Louis Krebs Graham (January 7, 1938 – May 11, 2026) was an American professional golfer. He won six PGA Tour tournaments including the 1975 U.S. Open.
Early life In 1938, Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing golf when he was seven years old. He attended Nashville's Father Ryan High School.
Graham attended Memphis State University. He played on the golf team for three years.
Later, Graham was drafted into the U.S. Army. While in the Army, Graham served as a member of the Old Guard—Company E of the Third U.S. Infantry Regiment—the ceremonial Honor Guard that guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. During his Army career, he made the Army golf team that won the Inter-Service championship in 1961.
Professional career In September 1964, Graham joined the PGA Tour. His first win was at the 1967 Minnesota Golf Classic at Hazeltine National Golf Club during his third full year on the tour. In 1972, Graham won again at the Liggett Myers Open, followed by the U.S. Open in 1975. Graham had only three wins in fifteen years, and then in 1979, he won three more times in the space of eleven weeks. For this achievement, he won Golf Digest's 1979 Comeback of the Year award.
Graham played on three Ryder Cup teams (1973, 1975, 1977), and was a member of the victorious 1975 World Cup Team. He was inducted as a charter member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. During his career, he won over $1.4 million on the PGA Tour and over $600,000 in Senior Tour career earnings.
His greatest success in major championships came at the U.S. Open. He won in 1975 at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois beating John Mahaffey by two strokes in a playoff. In 1977, he finished second – losing by one stroke to Hubert Green at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also had a previous T-3 finish at the Open in 1974. On the Senior PGA Tour, his best finish was a T-3 at the AT&T Championship in 1990.
Death Graham died on May 11, 2026, at the age of 88.
Awards and honors In 1979, Graham won Golf Digest's Comeback of the Year award. In 1992, he was inducted as a charter member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.
Professional wins (7) PGA Tour wins (6) Legend Major championships (1) Other PGA Tour (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1 Jul 30, 1967Minnesota Golf Classic−2 (76-68-70-72=286)1 stroke Bobby Verwey2Aug 27, 1972Liggett & Myers Open−3 (71-74-70-70=285)Playoff David Graham, Hale Irwin, Larry Ziegler3Jun 23, 1975U.S. Open +3 (74-72-68-73=287)Playoff John Mahaffey4Jul 22, 1979IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic−11 (68-70-71-64=273)Playoff Bobby Wadkins5Sep 9, 1979American Optical Classic−9 (68-67-71-69=275)1 stroke Ben Crenshaw6Oct 7, 1979San Antonio Texas Open−12 (69-64-69-66=268)1 stroke Eddie Pearce, Bill Rogers, Doug Tewell
PGA Tour playoff record (3–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11971Greater Hartford Open George Archer, J. C. SneadArcher won with birdie on first extra hole21972Liggett & Myers Open David Graham, Hale Irwin, Larry ZieglerWon with birdie on third extra holeD. Graham and Ziegler eliminated by par on first hole31975U.S. Open John MahaffeyWon 18-hole playoff;Graham: E (71),Mahaffey: +2 (73)41979IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic Bobby WadkinsWon with birdie on first extra hole Source:
Other wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1 Dec 7, 1975World Cup(with Johnny Miller)−22 (134-142-140-138=554)10 strokes − Hsieh Min-Nan and Kuo Chie-Hsiung
Major championships Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 1975 U.S. Open 4 shot deficit +3 (74-72-68-73=287) Playoff1 John Mahaffey 1Defeated Mahaffey in an 18-hole playoff – Graham 71 (E), Mahaffey 73 (+2).
Results timeline Tournament1963196419651966196719681969Masters TournamentCUTU.S. OpenCUTCUT23CUTT28The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipT8CUT
Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979Masters TournamentCUTT17CUTT40T12T6CUTT23U.S. OpenT46T37T19CUTT31T282T35T25The Open ChampionshipT47PGA ChampionshipT22CUTT33T30T48T54T22T6CUTT10
Tournament198019811982198319841985Masters TournamentT26U.S. OpenT51CUTT39T50CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT42
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 4 10 6U.S. Open 1 1 1 3 3 6 21 14The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 3 5 15 10Totals 1 1 1 3 7 15 47 31 Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1974 U.S. Open – 1977 U.S. Open) Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1977 Masters – 1977 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985The Players Championship5T29T56T612T43T6072T70WDCUTCUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances Professional Ryder Cup: 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners), 1977 (winners) World Cup: 1975 (winners)
References
External links