In Part 1 of this week’s show, I’m joined by PGA Tour Legends David Peoples and Tom Purtzer. David had a fantastic Amateur career which included winning the 1979 Florida State Amateur Championship before he joined the PGA Tour. He went on to win twice on Tour, at the 1991 Southern Open and the 1992 Anheuser-Busch Classic. He also won the 1990 Kapalua International.
David was so much fun when he joined me in December that I couldn’t wait to have him back on the show. He and I talk about how he came from 2 strokes back to win that ’79 Florida State Amateur defeating then 44-year-old and multi-time champion Jack Vegte and future Tour Pro Jay Schrader. He also shares memories of finishing runner-up at Q-School in 1982 when it was played at TPC Sawgrass, his appearances in the 1992 and ’93 Masters, and why he decided not to play in The Open Championship until playing in the Senior Open Championship when he was on the Champions Tour.
Tom Purtzer is one of my all-time favorites. In his 7th visit to the show, he shares his insights on this year’s Players Championship plus his experiences playing in the tournament from the late 70s through the early 90s. He talks about the challenge of figuring out the winds swirling around the 17th green, similar to the ones around the 12th green at Augusta National. We also talk about the incredible putt he made from the back lip of the bunker on the 13th hole on his way to victory at the 1991 Colonial Invitational and why he never mentioned that putt to tournament host Ben Hogan. We round out Part 1 of this week’s show talking about the fracture in the Pro game and if we would be here if Deane Beman was still Commissioner.