Tony Lema

Tony Lema
Nation:	United States
Nickname:	Champagne Tony
Career data
Tournament wins:	16
Major wins :	1 (1964)

Anthony David "Tony" Lema (born February 25, 1934 in Oakland , California , † July 24, 1966 in Lansing, Illinois ) was an American golfer . In the first half of the 1960s, he was one of the dominant professional golfers in the world alongside Jack Nicklaus , Arnold Palmer , Gary Player and Billy Casper . In 1966, at the age of 32, he died in a plane crash near Chicago .

Origin and early days as a professional

Lema was born in Oakland to a family with Portuguese ancestors. His father died when he was three years old. The mother raised the four children alone.

He started playing golf as a child. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Marines and took part in the Korean War. Upon his return in 1955, he worked as a golf instructor at a golf club in San Francisco .

From 1957 he played on the PGA tour, but until 1962 with rather moderate results. After that, a steep career began.

Four years at their peak

Before the Orange County Open began in Costa Mesa, California in October 1962, Lema joked that if he won the press conference, he would serve champagne instead of the usual beer. Lema actually won the tournament, earning his first victory on the PGA TOUR . He kept his promise: there was champagne for the journalists present. The nickname "Champagne Tony" accompanied the fun-loving Californian from now on.

The following four years were characterized by immense sporting success: he recorded twelve tournament victories, including the British Open in 1964, eleven second places and three times third place. Prize money of the equivalent of 2.4 million marks was the reward. Lema was only surpassed in popularity by then superstar Arnold Palmer .

Because of his talent and boldness, Lema was considered exceptional. His greatest triumph, winning the British Open in 1964, took place under unusual circumstances. Players like Jack Nicklaus usually arrived one to two weeks before the tournament started. The time change, strongly fluctuating weather with a lot of wind and often low temperatures, the smaller ball at the time than on the US tour and the different style of play on the coastal links courses required a longer acclimatization. Lema arrived only 36 hours before the first tee and won with a five-stroke lead over Nicklaus. What made this victory so special was the fact that no player could ever win the British Open again when he participated for the first time.

Tragic death

By the mid-1960s, Lema had shed the Playboy image that had stuck to him. He was married. He was trusted to endanger the dominant Nicklaus. However, his life ended suddenly and tragically: In July 1966, the small private plane in which he was sitting with his wife Betty flew over the Lansing Sportsman's Club near Chicago. Since his next tournament was to take place on this course, Lema wanted to get an impression of the place from the air. Due to a lack of fuel, the plane crashed near the 17th green of the golf course. Besides Lema and his wife, the pilot and the co-pilot died.

PGA Tour wins (12)

• 1962 (3) Sahara Invitational, Orange County Open, Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational
• 1963 (1) Memphis Open Invitational
• 1964 (5) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am , Thunderbird Classic, Buick Open Invitational, Cleveland Open, The Open Championship
• 1965 (2) Buick Open Invitational, Carling World Open
• 1966 (1) Oklahoma City Open Invitational

Major championships are shown in bold .

Major tournaments

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	2	T9	T21	T22
US Open	50	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T5	20th	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 = not started
WD = withdrawn
CUT = failed at the cut
"T" = shared rank

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Death on the 17th green . In: Der Spiegel . No. 35 , 1966, pp. 108 ( online ).
2. ↑ golftoday.co.uk