Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
As with most golfers, Dow Finsterwald has one of “those” stories.
But there’s a difference, because his story isn’t about the 17th hole at the golf course down the street. His story is about the 17th hole in the final round of the 1962 Masters.
Finsterwald talks calmly about his personal golfing torment as he thinks back 44 years to Augusta National. He makes it clear it was one of the most bittersweet times in his long pro career.
“I took three from the very edge of the 17th hole for a bogey, which dropped me back to 8-under and that was the tying score,” Finsterwald said. “It would have been at the top (accomplishments) or very close to it if I had won.”
The bogey at 17 forced a playoff with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Palmer won.
“I got pretty hot on the back nine,” Palmer said last week. “Dow shot himself out of it on the front nine. I had a slow start, but caught Gary on the back nine. Dow shot 77, Gary shot 71 and I shot 68.”
But Finsterwald had his days, winning the PGA Championship in 1958 at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pa., the first year of the stroke play format. He was on the Ryder Cup team four times – captain once. He had 12 PGA Tour wins and finished in the money in 72 consecutive starts. He was considered an extremely good putter and a perfectionist from tee to green.
“He was a great player,” Palmer said. “I always was on his case for not being more aggressive. But he had a plan and he stuck with it.”
Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Tiger Woods are among the golfers who have bested Finsterwald’s streak of making the cut, which ranked second only to Byron Nelson at the time.
“I’m still in good company,” Finsterwald said. “Winning the PGA was a big point in my life. Also being named Ryder Cup captain in 1977 is right up there.”
Finsterwald remembers a time when professional golfers played in relative anonymity compared to today’s glamour, money and popularity.
“We had first-place prizes of $2,000,” Finsterwald said. “That $2,000 went a lot further than today, but not as far as $1.8 million.”
But the influx of television and the excitement of the hard-driving Palmer were catalysts for the sport’s growth, in Finsterwald’s estimation.
“Golf was so fortunate in my opinion of having a person of Arnold’s character and personality,” Finsterwald said. “Arnold Palmer was the right guy at the right time and right place for golf. Television had a great deal to do with the popularization of golf. Between 1955 and 1970 was a great period. … A lot of things happened.”
Along the way, Finsterwald became associated with Colorado. The Broadmoor Golf Club, where he served as director of golf for nearly 30 years, starting in 1963, is a second home. But his tenure wasn’t greeted with fanfare.
The date was Nov. 22, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
“We were announcing that Trent Jones was to build another nine holes and that I was going to be the new director of golf,” Finsterwald said. “We had a nice ceremony planned. But everybody stayed for just a short time.”
Finsterwald cherishes his assignment at The Broadmoor because of how his name was put up for consideration. He learned that Ed Dudley, the retiring director of golf at The Broadmoor, had gone to Thayer Tutt, the longtime owner of The Broadmoor and a sports enthusiast in Colorado Springs, and said that if anything happened to him, Tutt should give Finsterwald a call. A few days later, the call came from Tutt.
“To follow Ed Dudley was a great honor,” Finsterwald said. “Nobody could replace him.”
Finsterwald’s one regret stems from not playing in the British Open.
“When my game warranted going, there were tournaments here that had more prize money,” Finsterwald said. “I was more of a mercenary than I should have been. At one time, the players from here went over by boat.”
Having been around golf all of his life, Finsterwald at 76 is an encyclopedia of the game.
“I saw Bobby Jones play only on films and I didn’t get to see Walter Hagan,” Finsterwald said. “I bridged the gap between a lot of people. I didn’t see Nelson play as much as I would have liked. Players such as Nelson, Jones, Ben Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Arnold would be winners in any era. Sammy Snead was amazing. He won tournaments when he was 53. I haven’t played against Tiger (Woods), but I don’t think there’s any limit on how far he can go. But he’s going to have more quality players to beat. The tournament fields today are much deeper than the fields we had.”
Finsterwald still plays in a few tournaments over the year. He divides his time between Colorado Springs and Florida, and there’s a good chance he can be found on the practice green each morning at The Broadmoor Golf Club during his summer routine.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
