Tony Lema

Tony Lema
— Golfer —
Lema holding the Claret Jug after the 1964 Open Championship
Personal information
Full name	Anthony David Lema
Nickname	Champagne Tony
Born	(1934-02-25)February 25, 1934 Oakland, California
Died	July 24, 1966(1966-07-24) (aged 32) Lansing, Illinois
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Elizabeth R. "Betty" Cline
Career
College	None
Turned professional	1955
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	22
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	12
Other	10
Best results in major championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1963
U.S. Open	T4: 1966
The Open Championship	Won: 1964
PGA Championship	T9: 1964

Anthony David Lema (February 25, 1934 -– July 24, 1966) was an American professional golfer. Lema rose to fame in the mid-1960s, but lost his life at age 32 in an aircraft accident at Lansing, Illinois. His most prestigious victory was his only major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.^[1]

Early life

Born in Oakland, California, Lema's parents were Anthony H. Lema (1899–1937) and Clotilda M. Lema, née Silva (1910–2000), both of Portuguese ancestry.^[2] His father died of pneumonia when Tony was three years old, and his widowed mother struggled to raise the family of four children on welfare. He began playing golf as a boy at Lake Chabot municipal golf course and learned different aspects of the game from a variety of people. Noted African-American golf coach Lucius Bateman helped develop his swing and Oakland policeman Ralph Hall taught him course strategy. The golf pros at Lake Chabot, Dick Fry and Bill Burch, trained him on basic golf fundamentals, including the use of a square stance.^[3]

At age 17, Lema enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Korea. After his discharge from the military in 1955, he obtained work as an assistant to the club professional at a San Francisco golf club.

Eddie Lowery, a wealthy San Francisco businessman, who assisted talented amateur players in the area, helped to sponsor and encourage Lema.^[4] Lowery is best known as the 10-year-old caddy of champion Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open. Lowery's sponsorship gave Lema $200 a week expense money, to be repaid, in addition to splitting his winnings: Lema received two-thirds, Lowery one-third. One additional detail was that all debts at the end of the year were to be carried forward.^[3]

PGA Tour

By 1957, Lema had developed his skills sufficiently to earn his way onto the PGA Tour, winning the Imperial Valley Open in memorable fashion: Assuming he was out of contention, Lema headed to the clubhouse bar, where he had three highballs. Told that he would face Paul Harney in a sudden-death playoff, a relaxed Lema won the tournament on the second extra hole. The following year, he began developing friendships with a trio of fellow golfers: Johnny Pott, Tommy Jacobs and Jim Ferree, and during 11 tournaments in 1958, Lema finished in the top 15, winning $10,282 for the year.

The following year, Lema's winnings dropped to $5,900, followed by an even worse year in 1960, when he collected a mere $3,060. A raucous off-the-course lifestyle was taking its toll until he began talking with television producer Danny Arnold, who helped him improve his composure and bolster his confidence.^[3]

While Lema's struggles continued in 1962, along with his debt to Lowery reaching over $11,000, his luck would finally change for good. On the eve of his victory in October 1962 at the Orange County Open Invitational in Costa Mesa, California, Lema joked he would serve champagne to the press if he won the next day.^[5]^[6] From then on he was known as Champagne Tony, and his handsome looks and vivacious personality added to the legend, such that Johnny Miller has stated that at the time of his death in 1966, Lema was second only to Arnold Palmer in fan popularity.

"There's nothing like ending a nice day on a good game of golf with a little taste of the bubbly".^[7]

Lema on golf and champagne

That win sparked an impressive performance over the next four years that saw him win 12 official PGA tour events, finish second on 11 occasions, and third four times. From 1963 through July 1966, Lema finished in the top 10 over 50% of the time and never missed a cut in a professional major, finishing in the top 10 in 8 of the 15 majors in which he played. He was a member of the 1963 and 1965 United States Ryder Cup teams, and his Ryder Cup record (9–1–1) is the best of any player who has played in two or more.

Friend and tour colleague Jack Nicklaus wrote that Lema's play also stabilized and improved greatly after he married Betty, a former airline stewardess, in 1963.^[8]^[9] One additional reason for Lema's more relaxed play that year was the end of his agreement with Lowery.

In 1963, Lema finished second by one stroke to Nicklaus at the Masters, and missed the playoff for the U.S. Open by two shots, bogeying the last two holes, believing he needed birdies. He won the Memphis Open Invitational later that summer.

Lema won two other tournaments that fall and was named 1963 Most Improved Player by Golf Digest. That winter, he wrote, with Gwylim S. Brown, "Golfers' Gold", an autobiographical account of his eight-year apprenticeship in the competitive cauldron of the PGA Tour.

Major champion

In 1964, Lema won the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, then three tournaments in four weeks: the Thunderbird Classic at Westchester in Rye, New York, the Buick Open Invitational at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and the Cleveland Open at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland, Ohio, (in a playoff with Arnold Palmer).^[10]^[11]

Two weeks later he captured his only major championship at the 1964 Open Championship, held at the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland. He won by five shots over runner-up Jack Nicklaus.^[12] Before teeing up in the first round, Lema had only played nine practice holes.^[9] Lema had hired Arnold Palmer's regular British caddy, Tip Anderson, since Palmer was not competing that year.^[13] Anderson, a descendant of a past Open champion, Jamie Anderson, had grown up on the course.

In the matchup of the four major champions of 1964 in the World Series of Golf, Lema won $50,000 (then the largest payoff in golf) at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, over Palmer (Masters), Ken Venturi (U.S. Open) and Bobby Nichols (PGA Championship).

Due to his good looks and recent success, Lema was tapped for a guest appearance in an episode of the TV series Hazel that aired January 7, 1965. In the episode, Hazel misplaces Lema's prized golf balls.^[14] That same year Lema made an appearance on the Lawrence Welk Show where Welk passed the baton to Lema to direct the Champagne Music Makers.^[15]

In 1965, Lema won the Buick Open for the second consecutive year, and the Carling World Open, finishing second in prize money to Nicklaus. In fall 1965, Lema and Nicklaus formed the U.S. team to the World Cup of Golf.^[9] Lema's last victory came in May 1966, in his wife's hometown at the Oklahoma City Open held at Quail Creek Golf & Country Club. A few weeks later he came back from an opening round 78, to almost capture a third consecutive Buick Open, finishing in fourth place, three shots behind Phil Rodgers.

Death

Following the 1966 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron in late July, Lema and his wife chartered an airplane to fly them to an exhibition tournament south of Chicago, the Little Buick Open at Lincolnshire Country Club in Crete, Illinois. The twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, piloted by Doris Mullen, ran out of fuel and crashed in a water hazard short of the seventh green of Lansing Country Club in Lansing, Illinois, less than a mile from their destination, Lansing Municipal Airport. During the fatal plunge, Mullen swerved left to avoid a group of people standing near the clubhouse. In addition to Mullen and the Lemas, Dr. George Bard, the co-pilot, was also killed. Bard and Mullen's husband, Wylie, were owners of the ill-fated plane.^[8]^[16]

In 1983, a San Leandro public golf course bordering San Francisco Bay was named in his honor, the Tony Lema Golf Course, now part of the Monarch Bay Golf complex. In Ludlow, Massachusetts, the road accessing the local country club is named Tony Lema Drive. There is a collection of photographs and other items in the club house of Ludlow Country club which features Tony Lema.

Lema, 32, and his wife Betty, 30, were buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California, after funeral services at St. Elizabeth's Church in his hometown of Oakland, California.^[17]

Professional wins (22)

PGA Tour wins (12)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 30, 1962	Sahara Invitational	−14 (69-67-66-68=270)	3 strokes	Don January
2	Oct 28, 1962	Orange County Open Invitational	−17 (68-66-64-69=267)	Playoff	Bob Rosburg
3	Nov 18, 1962	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	−15 (67-68-68-70=273)	7 strokes	Doug Sanders
4	May 27, 1963	Memphis Open Invitational	−10 (67-67-68-68=270)	Playoff	Tommy Aaron
5	Jan 19, 1964	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−4 (70-68-70-76=284)	3 strokes	Gay Brewer, Bo Wininger
6	Jun 7, 1964	Thunderbird Classic^[18]	−12 (68-67-70-71=276)	1 stroke	Mike Souchak
7	Jun 14, 1964	Buick Open Invitational	−11 (69-66-72-70=277)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald
8	Jun 28, 1964	Cleveland Open	−14 (65-70-70-65=270)	Playoff	Arnold Palmer
9	Jul 10, 1964	The Open Championship	−9 (73-68-68-70=279)	5 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
10	Jun 6, 1965	Buick Open Invitational	−8 (71-70-69-70=280)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
11	Aug 23, 1965	Carling World Open	−5 (71-71-67-70=279)	2 strokes	Arnold Palmer
12	May 29, 1966	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−17 (69-68-69-65=271)	6 strokes	Tom Weiskopf

PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1962	Orange County Open Invitational	Bob Rosburg	Won with birdie on third extra hole
2	1963	Memphis Open	Tommy Aaron	Won with par on first extra hole
3	1963	Cleveland Open	Tommy Aaron, Arnold Palmer	Palmer won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67, Aaron:70, Lema:70)
4	1964	Cleveland Open	Arnold Palmer	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (10)

this list is probably incomplete

1957 Imperial Valley Open
1958 Idaho Open
1961 Hesperia Invitational Open, Mexican Open
1962 Mexican Open, Northern California Open, Northern California PGA Championship
1963 Northern California PGA Championship
1964 World Series of Golf, Northern California PGA Championship

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1964	The Open Championship	7 shot lead	−9 (73-68-68-70=279)	5 strokes	Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	2	T9	T21	T22
U.S. Open	50	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T5	20	T8	T4
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	1	T5	T30
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	WD	T13	T9	T61	T34

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	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	1	2	4	4	4
U.S. Open	0	0	2	3	4	6	5
The Open Championship	1	0	2	2	2	3	3
PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	2	5	4
Totals	1	1	5	8	12	18	16

Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (1963 Masters – 1966 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1963 (winners), 1965 (winners)
Canada Cup: 1965

References

↑ "1964 Tony Lema". The Open. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
↑ "Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent". Retrieved January 9, 2008.
1 2 3 Brown, Gwilym S. (March 25, 1963). "Champagne Tony Has A Winning Look". Sports Illustrated. pp. 26–31. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
↑ Frost, Mark (2007). The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever. Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-1-4013-0278-8.
↑ "Golf History". Mesa Verde Country Club library. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
↑ Ryan, Jack (September 6, 1964). "Who Says Golf Has To Be Grim?". Family Weekly. Sarasota Herald-Times (Sarasota, Florida). pp. 8–9.
↑ "Champagne Tony: Champagne on the Green". Howard Cosell Productions (in association with WABC-TV). 1964.
1 2 Fimrite, Ron (July 31, 1995). "The Toast Of Golf". Sports Illustrated. pp. G14–20. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
1 2 3 Nicklaus, Jack; Bowden, Ken (1978). On & Off the Fairway. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-22568-1.
↑ "Lema birdies extra hole, beats Palmer". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. June 29, 1964. p. 19.
↑ "Lema's 15-foot putt nips Arnie in sudden death". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. June 29, 1964. p. 26.
↑ "Lema winner of British Open". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. July 11, 1964. p. 14.
↑ "'World's greatest caddy' carried Lema to victory". Miami News. Associated Press. July 11, 1964. p. 1B.
↑ "Champagne Tony: Hazel Misplaces Lema's Prized Golf Balls". IMDB.com. January 6, 1965.
↑ "Tony Lema directs the Champagne Music Makers, Lawrence Welk Show". YouTube.com. 1965.
↑ "Lema Plane Crash Probed". Milwaukee Sentinel. United Press International. July 26, 1966. p. 1-sports. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
↑ "Find a Grave – Tony Lema". Retrieved July 12, 2012.
↑ Becker, Jim (June 8, 1964). "Tony Lema Provides Hot Finish To Thunderbird". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. AP. p. 8.

External links

"Tony Lema". Find a Grave. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
Tony Lema Golf Course Monarch Bay

The Open Championship champions

1860 Willie Park, Sr. 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. 1863 Willie Park, Sr. 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park, Sr. 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. 1871 No championship 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park, Sr. 1876 Bob Martin† 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie† 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park, Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Willie Park, Jr.† 1890 John Ball# 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton# 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 John Henry Taylor 1895 John Henry Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon† 1897 Harold Hilton# 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 John Henry Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy 1908 James Braid 1909 John Henry Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon† 1912‡ Edward Ray 1913 John Henry Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison† 1922 Walter Hagen 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Jim Barnes 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927‡ Bobby Jones# 1928 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Tommy Armour 1932‡ Gene Sarazen 1933 Denny Shute† 1934‡ Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II 1946 Sam Snead 1947 Fred Daly 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke† 1950 Bobby Locke 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Peter Thomson 1955 Peter Thomson 1956 Peter Thomson 1957 Bobby Locke 1958 Peter Thomson† 1959 Gary Player 1960 Kel Nagle 1961 Arnold Palmer 1962 Arnold Palmer 1963 Bob Charles† 1964 Tony Lema 1965 Peter Thomson 1966 Jack Nicklaus 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo 1968 Gary Player 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus† 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Lee Trevino 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf 1974 Gary Player 1975 Tom Watson† 1976 Johnny Miller 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Jack Nicklaus 1979 Seve Ballesteros 1980 Tom Watson 1981 Bill Rogers 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Tom Watson 1984 Seve Ballesteros 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman 1994 Nick Price 1995 John Daly† 1996 Tom Lehman 1997 Justin Leonard 1998 Mark O'Meara† 1999 Paul Lawrie† 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 David Duval 2002 Ernie Els† 2003 Ben Curtis 2004 Todd Hamilton† 2005‡ Tiger Woods 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Pádraig Harrington† 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Stewart Cink† 2010 Louis Oosthuizen 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els 2013 Phil Mickelson 2014‡ Rory McIlroy 2015 Zach Johnson†

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

Tony Lema in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1963

Julius Boros Billy Casper Dow Finsterwald Bob Goalby Tony Lema Gene Littler Billy Maxwell Johnny Pott Dave Ragan Arnold Palmer (playing captain)

Won: 23 – 9

United States Ryder Cup team – 1965

Julius Boros Billy Casper Tommy Jacobs Don January Tony Lema Gene Littler Dave Marr Arnold Palmer Ken Venturi Byron Nelson (non-playing captain)

Won: 19.5 – 12.5 Johnny Pott: Made the team, but did not participate in the event due to a back injury.

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 315533807 LCCN: no2004099970

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