NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lou Graham, who won the U.S. Open in 1975 and five other PGA Tour events, has died. He was 88.
The PGA Tour and USGA said Graham died Monday. Friend Joe Taggert, a golf pro at Richland Country Club where Graham was a member, told The Tennessean that he had been in hospice care.
Graham won the U.S. Open by beating John Mahaffey by two strokes at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois.
His other PGA Tour wins were the Minnesota Golf Classic in 1967 and the Liggett and Myers Open in 1972. He also won the Valero Texas Open, the IVB Philadelphia Golf Classic and the CVS Charity Classic, all in 1979. For those victories, he won the Comeback of the Year award presented by Golf Digest.
In 1977, he finished second at the U.S. Open, losing by one stroke to Hubert Green at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On the Senior Tour, later known as the PGA Tour Champions, Graham’s best finish was a tie for third at the AT&T Championship in 1990.
He joined the PGA Tour in 1964, winning more than $1.4 million in his career, plus $600,000 on the Senior Tour, which he joined in 1988.
He played on Ryder Cup teams in 1973, 1975 and 1977.
Graham was born in Nashville and attended then-Memphis State University before being drafted into the Army.
