Mac O’Grady is an American professional golfer and golf teaching professional who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970’s and 1980’s….who was known mainly for his eccentric behavior and brash statements….in addition to his attending PGA Tour qualifying school 17 times before achieving his card…. during which time he legally changed his name from Phil McGleno to Phillip McClelland O’Grady and then to Mac O’Grady.
O’Grady won two events on the PGA Tour….with his first win coming at the 1986 Canon Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open….and his 2nd and final win coming a year later at the MONY Tournament of Champions….with his best finish in a major was a T-9 at the 1987 U.S. Open….as O’Grady had 18 top-10 finishes as a PGA Tour player….when he left the PGA Tour in 1989 as a result of back problems.
Mac O’Grady was a right-handed player….who was very ambidextrous….as he could also play “scratch golf” (no handicap) left-handed…as he had previously attempted to gain status as an amateur “lefty” and pro “righty”….plus O’Grady once tried to enter the Chrysler Team Championship as both halves of the same team….when he would have played one ball left-handed and the other right-handed.
At the 1984 USF&G Classic, O’Grady got into an altercation with a female tournament volunteer….to which he eventually was fined $500 for it….and the fine was taken out of winnings at the 1985 Bob Hope Desert Classic….to which O’Grady soon afterwards began a series of verbal attacks against PGA Commissioner Deane Beman….when at one point, O’Grady said “Deane Beman is a thief with a capital T.” for which he was fined $5,000….while having to serve a six event suspension late in the 1986 PGA Tour year for conduct unbecoming a professional golfer.
Five years after he left the tour, O’Grady called for a crackdown on beta blockers. O’Grady saying “of the top 30 players worldwide I would be surprised if less than seven stepped to the first tee each week without the use of beta blockers to calm their nerves.” ….to which several of the top European players scoffed at O’Grady’s allegations.
Any way you cut the pie…..Mac O’Grady was “a horse of a different color”….which has made this interview with Roy Firestone on ESPN Sports Look….well worth watching.
