Every so often in golf we come across a tale so remarkable that it seems barely believable but that’s what we’re left thinking when we look at Tom Watson and John Mahaffey’s battle in the 1978 PGA Championship.
Going into the tournament at Oakmont in ’78, American favourite Tom Watson was already a multiple-time major winner and was looking to seal a first PGA Championship.
Heading into the final round, Watson found himself in the ideal position as he led Jerry Pate by five shots, with the rest of the field further back.
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It looked as good as done for Watson as Sunday got underway but one of the players in the field some seven shots behind him, John Mahaffey, had other ideas.
John Mahaffey’s remarkable comeback to beat Tom Watson to the 1978 PGA Championship
With Watson already such an established name and Mahaffey having only won once on the PGA Tour prior – some five years earlier – few even noticed Mahaffey being part of the shake up.
However, all that would change in one of the most dramatic final rounds in major championship history.
Instead of pulling away and extending his lead, Watson struggled immensely on the final day, carding a round of 73 to open things up for the rest of the field.
As it would pan out, it was indeed Jerry Pate who would capitalise as he shot a fine 68 to move to minus eight and level with Watson.
However, few saw Mahaffey coming as the American produced the round of his life under pressure to come home in 66 and force a three-way playoff.
After an opening round 75, Mahaffey’s effort was even more remarkable as he went 67, 68 and 66 in consecutive rounds to get in contention.
Then, in what would be the highlight of Mahaffey’s career, he holed a 12-foot putt on the second playoff hole to make birdie and win the PGA Championship outright.
It proved a springboard for success for Mahaffey, who won the week after at the American Optical Classic, before winning another seven times on the PGA Tour, with his final act coming in 1989.
John Mahaffey’s PGA Tour career in numbers
Winning a major championship is the icing on the cake for most golfers and for John Mahaffey, it proved to be a career highlight.
Still, he also carved out a hugely successful career and given he’s in double figures for PGA Tour wins, he can hold his head high.
Mahaffey played in more than 650 PGA Tour events, finishing inside the top ten more than 100 times along the way.
| PGA Tour | John Mahaffey |
| Events played | 683 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Top tens | 105 |
| Top fives | 60 |
| Prize money (USD) | $3,876,852 |
After his career on the main tour, he also made more than 200 appearances on the Senior TOUR, adding another win to his resume and a further 32 top tens.
In the end, despite having just the one major, Mahaffey had quite the golf career and looking back, his win over Watson and Pate is one of the most dramatic of all-time.
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