John Mahaffey

John Mahaffey
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	John Drayton Mahaffey, Jr.
Born	(1948-05-09) May 9, 1948 Kerrville, Texas
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	The Woodlands, Texas
Career
College	University of Houston
Turned professional	1971
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	10
Champions Tour	1
Other	4
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T8: 1981
U.S. Open	2nd: 1975
The Open Championship	T10: 1975
PGA Championship	Won: 1978

John Drayton Mahaffey, Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events.

Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turned pro in 1971 after graduating in 1970 with a degree in psychology.

Mahaffey came close to winning back to back U.S. Opens. In 1975 he lost in a playoff to Lou Graham at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The following year Mahaffey had a two-shot lead after 54 holes at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia before shooting a final round 73 and finishing T4th.

In 1978, he won twice on the tour that year including one major, the PGA Championship. He also won the World Cup individual and team event where he was paired with Andy North that year.

The 1978 PGA championship was held at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Mahaffey became the best comeback winner in PGA history after trailing Tom Watson by seven strokes with 14 holes to play. Ultimately, the tournament came down to a three-player playoff – Mahaffey, Watson and Jerry Pate. All three players made par on the first playoff hole. The drama ended on the second playoff hole when Pate missed the green, Watson missed a 30-foot birdie attempt and Mahaffey made his 12-foot birdie putt for the Championship.

Mahaffey played on the 1979 Ryder Cup team.

Mahaffey currently lives near Houston at The Woodlands in his home state of Texas. His family includes wife Elizabeth, son John D. III (born 1988) and daughter Meagan (born 1992). In his spare time, he enjoys fishing. Early in his career, Mahaffey was often sought out by other players to do comedic imitations for which he has a special talent. He last played on the Champions Tour in 2007. He works as a roving announcer on Champions Tour Golf Channel telecasts.

Amateur wins (1)

• 1970 NCAA Championship

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 28, 1973	Sahara Invitational	−13 (68-66-69-68=271)	3 strokes	Dave Eichelberger
2	Aug 6, 1978	PGA Championship	−8 (75-67-68-66=276)	Playoff	Jerry Pate, Tom Watson
3	Aug 13, 1978	American Optical Classic	−14 (71-65-67-67=270)	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd, Gil Morgan
4	Jan 14, 1979	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−17 (66-66-71-71-69=343)	1 stroke	Lee Trevino
5	Jun 1, 1980	Kemper Open	−13 (68-72-67-68=275)	3 strokes	Craig Stadler
6	July 26, 1981	Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic	−8 (72-67-70-67=276)	2 strokes	Andy North
7	Jan 15, 1984	Bob Hope Classic	−20 (66-70-70-68-66=340)	Playoff	Jim Simons
8	Sep 29, 1985	Texas Open	−12 (68-68-65-67=268)	Playoff	Jodie Mudd
9	Mar 30, 1986	Tournament Players Championship	−13 (69-70-65-71=275)	1 stroke	Larry Mize
10	Aug 6, 1989	Federal Express St. Jude Classic	−12 (70-71-66-65=272)	3 strokes	Bob Gilder, Hubert Green, Bernhard Langer, Bob Tway

PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1975	U.S. Open	Lou Graham	Lost 18-hole playoff (Graham:71, Mahaffey:73)
2	1978	PGA Championship	Jerry Pate, Tom Watson	Won with birdie on second extra hole
3	1984	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Jim Simons	Won with par on second extra hole
4	1985	Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic	Mark Wiebe	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
5	1985	Texas Open	Jodie Mudd	Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (4)

• 1978 World Cup (team with Andy North and individual event)
• 1979 World Cup (with Hale Irwin)
• 1981 Spalding Invitational
• 1982 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with JoAnne Carner)

Champions Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Jun 20, 1999	Southwestern Bell Dominion	−12 (67-67-70=204)	Playoff	José Maria Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1999	Southwestern Bell Dominion	José Maria Cañizares, Bruce Fleisher	Won with birdie on second extra hole Fleisher eliminated with birdie on first hole
2	2002	FleetBoston Classic	Bob Gilder	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1978	PGA Championship	7 shot deficit	−8 (75-67-68-66=276)	Playoff1	Jerry Pate, Tom Watson

¹Defeated Pate and Watson with a birdie on the second extra hole.

Results timeline

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	T39	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T36 LA	DNP	CUT	T29	T12	2	T4	DNP	DNP	T36
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T44	T10	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T30	T9	T28	WD	DNP	1	T51

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	T44	T8	CUT	T40	CUT	T14	T42	T35	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T28	CUT	T22	T34	T30	T39	CUT	T24	DNP	T46
The Open Championship	T32	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T30	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T15	CUT	T42	CUT	T20	T23	CUT	T65	T15	CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
Masters Tournament	T42	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T40	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	WD

LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	1	2	12	8
U.S. Open	0	1	0	2	2	5	20	13
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	4
PGA Championship	1	0	0	1	2	6	23	12
Totals	1	1	0	3	6	14	59	37

• Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1978 PGA – 1981 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1975 U.S. Open – 1975 Open Championship)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners)
• World Cup: 1978 (winners, individual winner), 1979 (winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

External links

• John Mahaffey at the PGA Tour official site