A memorable win for a now iconic broadcaster is being memorialized with a … teddy bear?!?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Some fashion statements—or maybe misstatements?—are so powerful that they endure for decades.

Two-time major winner David Graham of Australia is the featured guest next month at the Memorial Tournament, but it appears that Roger Maltbie, the winner of the inaugural edition of the event in 1976, is being celebrated as well, as much for his remarkable victory as for the clothes he wore during the final day.

Graham, who won the 1979 PGA Championship and 1981 U.S. Open (as well as the 1980 Memorial), is the honoree at this year’s tournament, which happens to be the 50th anniversary of the PGA Tour event Jack Nicklaus founded at Muirfield Village Golf Club to bring a premier golf tournament, inspired by the Masters, to his hometown. Each year, the tournament spotlights individuals who have made lasting contributions to the game. Golf pioneer Allan Robertson, a dominant figure before the advent of the first major, the Open Championship, also is being recognized posthumously during the annual honoree ceremony Wednesday, June 3.

Maltbie, winner of five PGA Tour titles before becoming a popular broadcaster for NBC Sports, will be on the grounds at Muirfield Village for the first time in years, working the tournament in his customary role as an on-course reporter for Golf Channel as part of a new deal he signed with the cable network in January.

Reminders of Maltbie’s playoff victory over Hale Irwin on May 30, 1976, fueled by one of the most fortunate breaks in the annals of golf, can be found at the tournament via an annual charity program. Each year, the tournament sponsors Bears For Nationwide Children’s, in which limited-edition stuffed golden bears are sold at the tournament, online and at various locations nearby, with the proceeds benefitting the Memorial Tournament Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In years past, the bear has carried different names. In 2024, it was named “Bash,” a tribute to Barbara Nicklaus using her maiden name.

/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2026/5/maltbie-bear-memorial-2026-50th-anniversary.jpg

This year, the bear is named “Maltbie.” It is an homage to the tournament’s first winner and to the, ahem, unique clothing he wore when his birdie on the fourth extra hole gave him his second career tour title. The bear is clothed in a navy-blue shirt and decorative red, white and blue slacks that resemble the garb Maltbie donned when he took advantage of a remarkable break on the third playoff hole. His approach shot on the par-4 17th hole flew the green but caromed off a gallery rope stake and onto the green, enabling him to make par and extend the playoff against Irwin.