By Travis Puterbaugh, Curator

David Graham may have won the 1980 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, but the seeds for that victory were firmly planted at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan 10 months earlier.

It was there that Graham captured his first Major – the 1979 PGA Championship – in a three-hole playoff against Ben Crenshaw. By Graham’s own admission, that victory changed him as a person.

“When I won, I felt maybe I was selling myself short a little bit – that I wasn’t as bad a player as I had always told myself I was,” Graham said. “I’m much more relaxed now than I was… the experience I got from the PGA was invaluable.”

After winning the PGA Championship, Graham found that he no longer needed to worry about finishing inside the top-60 on the money list, but instead could focus on playing to win tournaments. That renewed conviction showed immediately in 1980 as he finished a career high fifth in the Masters (which featured an opening round 66) and posted three other Top-10 finishes at the Bay Hill Classic, MONY Tournament of Champions and the Colonial National Invitation.

“The rewards for success come in many forms,” Graham said. “First and foremost, you instantly begin to play better – at least I did. We all know that confidence breeds better play… and my confidence level had never been higher.”

Graham’s new confidence level came in handy the week of the Memorial. On a course as demanding as Muirfield Village Golf Club, he would need every edge he could get in holding off the defending tournament champion, Tom Watson.

Neither Graham nor Watson appeared to be in position to do much damage after opening rounds of 73 and 74, well-behind leaders Bruce Lietzke and Bobby Walzel who each shot 67. Graham and Watson both rebounded with 67s of their own on Friday, and Graham, who celebrated his birthday that day, shot his age – 34 – on the front nine. Only Miller Barber, who shot a then-course record 66, did better than Graham or Watson in the second round. After Moving Day on Saturday, they found themselves still one shot back of the leader Bob Gilder, whose 67 moved him to the top of the leaderboard.

His fortunes would be short-lived, as Gilder collapsed with an 82 on Sunday, while other contenders hovering near the lead also began falling by the wayside.

All except for Watson and Graham.

The two jockeyed for position on the leaderboard all day Sunday, with the defending champion Watson – on his way to his fourth consecutive PGA Player of the Year Award – seemingly a foregone conclusion to hold onto his title.

The Memorial reached a critical juncture on the 15th hole. Up and downs from the bunkers on the previous two holes kept Graham in the match, but now running out of holes, he needed to make a move. After his 1-iron left him with a 20-footer for eagle, Graham found the bottom of the cup which allowed him to stay close with Watson, who took sole possession of the lead at 8-under with a birdie.

His lead would be short-lived, however, as a three-putt on the 17th by Watson gave Graham just the opening he needed to pull even. On the 18th, Watson hit his approach to 20 feet, but his birdie putt ran just left of the cup. From 30 feet out, Graham had a tougher shot, but he had some turf knowledge on his side from a practice round observation.

“I had noticed that, although a putt from back there looked as if it would break left, it actually broke right,” Graham said. “I played the break.”

Instilled with confidence in his read and his game, Graham drained the 30-footer to dethrone Watson and win an event on what he described as “the most difficult golf course in the world.”

Watson, who had missed only one green the entire round, could only compliment the victorious Graham on a job well-done.

“David won the tournament; I didn’t lose the tournament,” Watson said. “David played some wonderful bunker shots and he played 3-under par that last four holes. That’s hard to beat.”

With just five bogeys in four rounds, and a robust 89 percent of fairways hit, Graham survived the course and did as little to beat himself as possible.

“The course requires a lot of finesse and an unbelievable amount of patience,” Graham said. “It’s gratifying to know you have the kind of game to win on a course like this.”