Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turned pro in 1971 after graduating in 1970 with a degree in psychology.
Mahaffey came close to winning his first major in 1975. He lost the U.S. Open to Lou Graham in a playoff at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois.
Mahaffey's best year in professional golf was 1978. He won twice on the tour that year including one major, the PGA Championship. He also won the World Cup (Individual), and the World Cup event where he was paired with Andy North that year.
The 1978 PGA championship was held at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Mahaffey became the best comeback winner in PGA history after trailing Tom Watson by seven strokes with 14 holes to play. Ultimately, the tournament came down to a 3 player playoff – Mahaffey, Watson and Jerry Pate. All three players made par on the first playoff hole. The drama ended on the second playoff hole when Pate missed the green, Watson missed a 30-foot birdie attempt and Mahaffey made his 12-foot birdie put for the Championship. http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2004/history_1978.html Year by year history of the PGA Championship
Mahaffey currently lives near Houston at The Woodlands in his home state of Texas. His family includes wife Denise, son John D. III (born 1988) and daughter Megan (born 1992). In his spare time, he enjoys fishing. Early in his career, Mahaffey was often sought out by other players to do comedic imitations for which he has a special talent. He currently splits his time between playing on the Champions Tour and serving as a roving announcer on Champions Tour Golf Channel telecasts.
PGA Tour Wins
*1973 (1) Sahara Invitational*1978 (2) '''PGA Championship''', American Optical Classic
*1979 (1) Bob Hope Desert Classic
*1980 (1) Kemper Open
*1981 (1) Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
*1984 (1) Bob Hope Classic
*1985 (1) Texas Open
*1986 (1) Tournament Players Championship
*1989 (1) Federal Express St. Jude Classic
Major championship is shown in '''bold'''.
Champions Tour wins
*1999 Southwestern Bell DominionOther wins
*1970 NCAA Championship*1978 World Cup Team event (with Andy North), World Cup (Individual event)
*1979 World Cup Team event (with Hale Irwin)
Results in major championships
| align="left"|Tournament |
| 1970 |
| 1971 |
| 1972 |
| 1973 |
| 1974 |
| 1975 |
| 1976 |
| 1977 |
| 1978 |
| 1979 |
| The Masters |
| U.S. Open |
| The Open Championship |
| PGA Championship |
| align="left"|Tournament |
| 1980 |
| 1981 |
| 1982 |
| 1983 |
| 1984 |
| 1985 |
| 1986 |
| 1987 |
| 1988 |
| 1989 |
| The Masters |
| U.S. Open |
| The Open Championship |
| PGA Championship |
| align="left"|Tournament |
| 1990 |
| 1991 |
| 1992 |
| 1993 |
| 1994 |
| 1995 |
| 1996 |
| 1997 |
| The Masters |
| U.S. Open |
| The Open Championship |
| PGA Championship |
<font size="1">LA</font> = Low Amateur<br>
DNP = Did not play<br>
WD = Withdrew<br>
CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>
"T" indicates a tie for a place<br>
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
References
External links
* Profile on the PGA Tour's official site http://www.pgatour.com/players/intro/132200Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!
