Mac McLendon: Pro Golfer Won in 1970s
Full name: Benson Rayfield McLendon
Date of birth: August 10, 1945
Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia
Date and place of death: July 4, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama
Also known as: "Mac" was the nickname by which McLendon was known, both publicly and privately. He was rarely referred to under his given name, but is sometimes referred to in records/statistics as "B.R. 'Mac' McLendon."
His Biggest Wins
McLendon had four wins in official PGA Tour tournaments:- 1974 Walt Disney World National Team Championship (partnered by Hubert Green)
- 1976 Southern Open
- 1978 Florida Citrus Open
- 1978 Pensacola Open
In the Majors
McLendon's first appearance in a major championship was in the 1968 U.S. Open, his last in the 1979 PGA Championship. He played in 15 majors total, never cracking the Top 20. His best finish was tied for 22nd in that first appearance in the 1968 U.S. Open. McLendon's only other Top 25 showing was tied for 25th in the 1975 PGA Championship.During the 1979 Masters, McLendon hit an errant drive to start the second round that flew into the crowd and struck a spectator. As he walked up the hole, McLendon realized who that spectator was: his wife. (She was unhurt.)
More About Mac McLendon
Mac McLendon was born in Georgia but grew up from an early age in Alabama, and it was in that state where he got his start in the game — and where he first started winning. Those early victories included the Alabama State Junior in 1961 and 1962, and the Alabama State Amateur in 1962 and 1966.He went to college in Louisiana, though, at LSU. McLendon's collegiate victories included the LSU National Invitational in 1966 and 1967. Three years running, 1965 through 1967, he was the conference champion in the SEC. McLendon earned first-team All-America honors following the 1967 college season.
McLendon turned pro in 1968 and won the very first tournament he entered afterward, the Magnolia Classic. That was a tournament affiliated with the PGA Tour as what used to be called a "satellite event," part of what was then known as "the Second Tour." It was not, though, a full-on PGA Tour tournament (it was played the same week in 1968 as the tour's Colonial event). McLendon closed with a 66 to tie the leader, then won a sudden-death playoff that wasn't sudden at all. It lasted nine holes before McLendon emerged as the champ.
His earnings for that win did not count toward the PGA Tour money list, but McLendon did finish in the tour's Top 60 for 1968, the cutoff at the time to avoid Monday qualifying.
McLendon finished in the Top 60 of PGA Tour money again at the end of 1969. But he fell down the list in ensuing years after messing up his swing in a chase for more distance. He started facing the week-to-week qualifying grind, and, nearing the end of the 1974 season, was even thinking about giving up the tour.
But then, in the 1974 season-ender, something happened that made McLendon change his mind: He won. McLendon and partner Hubert Green (a friend since junior golf days) paired to win the Walt Disney World National Team Championship. Their victory was by one stroke over two other teams, one of which was the uncle-nephew pairing of Sam Snead and J.C. Snead.
McLendon didn't win again on tour in 1975, but was solid and consistent enough to finish 26th on the money list. He did have a pair of runner-up showings that year, finishing second by one stroke to Roger Maltbie in the Pleasant Valley Classic, and tying for second behind Larry Ziegler in the Greater Jacksonville Open. (And he did win off the tour at a regional event that drew many tour players at the time, the Waterloo Open.)
His next victory was in the 1976 Southern Open, where McLendon won by two over the runner-up, his childhood friend Green. He was the only player in the field to score in the 60s all four rounds. At his title defense in the 1977 Southern Open, McLendon tied for second, albeit seven strokes behind the winner Jerry Pate.
The year 1978 was McLendon's best, with two PGA Tour victories and a career-high finish of 22nd on the money list. His wins were at the Florida Citrus Open (later known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational) by two strokes over David Graham; and in the season-ending Penscacola Open. In the latter, McLendon defeated Mike Reid in a playoff.
McLendon's play dropped off after that. He continued playing full seasons through 1980, but then played just one official tour event in 1981 before retiring from the tour.
For his PGA Tour career, McLendon made 326 starts and 240 cuts. In addition to his four victories, he was second three times, third-place three times, and had 43 total Top 10 finishes.
And he never made any attempt to play on the Senior Tour once he was eligible for it. He didn't need the money — McLendon had put his college degree in accounting to good use after retiring from the PGA Tour. In 1981, he went to work as a stockbroker and financial advisor in Birmingham, Alabama.
He later wrote a self-published book about his life and golf career titled Changing Courses: The Journey of PGA Tour Golfer Mac McLendon.
McLendon is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and Montgomery County (Alabama) Sports Hall of Fame. He was 76 years old when he died in 2022.
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Inductees, Benson Rayfield "Mac" McLendon Jr., https://ashof.org/inductees/mac-mclendon/.
Alliss, Peter. The Who's Who of Golf, 1983, Orbis Publishing.
Brenner, Morgan. The Majors of Golf, Volume 2, 2009, McFarland and Company.
Cyrgalis, Brett. Golf's Holy War: The Battle for the Soul of a Game in an Age of Science, 2021, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster.
Elliott, Len, and Kelly, Barbara. Who's Who in Golf, 1976, Arlington House Publishers.
Louisiana State University. "LSU Athletics Hall Of Fame Member, SEC Golf Champion "Mac" McLendon Passes Away," July 6, 2022, https://lsusports.net/news/2022/07/06/lsu-athletics-hall-of-fame-member-sec-golf-champion-mac-mclendon-passes-away/.
PGATour.com. Players, Mac McLendon, https://www.pgatour.com/player/01793/mac-mclendon.
PGATour.com. "Mac McLendon, four-time PGA TOUR winner, dies at age 76," July 7, 2022, https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2022/07/07/mac-mclendon-four-time-pga-tour-winner-dies-at-age-76.
