David Graham
2026 Memorial Tournament Honoree
“This is one of the greatest honors I have ever received,” said Graham, 79, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. “I’m just tickled to death as a past winner of the Memorial and a proud Muirfield Village Golf Club member to have been selected by the Captains Club. It’s even more rewarding to know that this was a decision by such a distinguished committee. This is a really special honor, especially having a close relationship with Jack Nicklaus.”
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Graham was a tenacious competitor and terrific ball striker who won eight times on the PGA TOUR, including the 1979 PGA Championship and the 1981 U.S. Open. His two major victories came on storied courses that validated his longtime goal of becoming a world-class player.
“Without a doubt David was one of the toughest competitors on the TOUR when I was playing,” Tom Watson, a two-time Memorial Tournament winner and member of the Captains Club, once said of Graham. “He was a strong man; he was strong mentally.”
In the 61st PGA at Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, Graham rallied from four strokes behind Rex Caldwell in the final round with a 5-under-par 65 to end up in a tie with Ben Crenshaw at 8-under 272. Crenshaw had closed with a 67. Graham won the title with an eight-foot birdie putt on the third sudden-death playoff hole to become the second Australian-born player to capture the Wanamaker Trophy, joining Jim Ferrier, who won it in 1947.
Two years later in the 81st U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia, Graham once again needed a final-round rally. Trailing 54-hole leader George Burns by three shots, Graham shot a closing 3-under 67 and beat Burns and Bill Rogers by three strokes with a 7-under 273 total.
In between those victories came his hard-fought win in the 1980 Memorial Tournament, an emotional triumph for Graham who revered Nicklaus and had joined Muirfield Village Golf Club a few years prior. After opening with a 73, tied for the second-highest opening round by a winner, Graham put together rounds of 67-70-70 and beat Watson, the 1979 winner, by a stroke thanks to birdies on three of the last four holes, including a downhill 30-footer on the final hole. Just two days after his 34th birthday, Graham posted a record 8-under 280 total, breaking the Memorial Tournament scoring mark by one stroke that Nicklaus set in 1977.
“David has been a great friend for a very long time, and we have not only played a lot of golf together, we also have worked alongside each other outside the ropes,” said Nicklaus. “David worked at one time with MacGregor—the clubs I played for decades and the company I owned for a while—and actually helped me make clubs. David was a very good player when he came to the United States, but he really learned how to win once here. He is a really good man and an excellent choice by the Captains Club.”
Born May 23, 1946, Anthony David Graham was introduced to golf at a young age by a club professional at a local nine-hole course in Melbourne. He quickly fell in love with the game, and by age 13 he decided to quit school and dedicate himself to the sport. He actually began playing golf left-handed before switching to right-handed at the behest of his mentor, George Naismith. Graham turned pro at 16 and took up several club jobs while honing his game. After finding some success in tournament play in his home country, he moved to the U.S. He earned his PGA TOUR card in 1971 and won his first TOUR title at the 1972 Cleveland Open after beating fellow Australian Bruce Devlin in a playoff.
According to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Graham is credited with 36 professional wins that have come on six different continents. He also won five times on the PGA TOUR Champions before retiring in 2004 after suffering from congestive heart failure. He served as the captain of the International Team in the first Presidents Cup in 1994 and for years was a member of the Masters Tournament Cup and Tee Committee responsible for setting up the course at Augusta National Golf Club. He also has designed golf courses, predominantly in the U.S.
Among the honors he has received include the Order of Australia by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992 for contributions to the game. He is a member of the Australian Sports Hall of Fame and the Australian Golf Hall of Fame as well as the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Graham and his wife Maureen live in Dallas, Texas. They have two sons, Andrew and Michael, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.