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Roger Maltbie, the 1976 Memorial Tournament winner, is being honored alongside David Graham at this year's event, marking its 50th anniversary. A limited-edition teddy bear named 'Bash' will be sold to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nationwide Childrenâs Hospital.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio â Some fashion statementsâor maybe misstatements?âare 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 yearâs 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 Maltbieâs 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 Childrenâs, 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 Childrenâs Hospital. In years past, the bear has carried different names. In 2024, it was named âBash,â a tribute to Barbara Nicklaus using her maiden name.
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This year, the bear is named âMaltbie.â It is an homage to the tournamentâs 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.
Roger Maltbie and David Graham are being honored at the 2024 Memorial Tournament.
'Bash' is a limited-edition teddy bear sold to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nationwide Childrenâs Hospital.
Roger Maltbie won the Memorial Tournament in 1976.
Jack Nicklaus founded the Memorial Tournament to bring a premier golf event to his hometown, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

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âHowever lucky they say I was, I was twice that lucky,â the California native gushed in the aftermath.
Tournament officials gave Maltbie a heads up about âMaltbie,â a few months ago, and he couldnât have been more grateful for the thought. âItâs a very nice thing that they have done to sort of memorialize, if you will, a victory that has meant a lot to me,â he said, mentioning that the tournament gave him three bears, which he proceeded to give to his grandchildren.
The bear wonât be the only one wearing the colorful slacks during tournament week.
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Maltbie (in his memorable pants) made his way on the cover of Golf World in 1976 for his Memorial win.
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This week, Maltbie was given a replica pair of the pants that he says he'll wear while broadcasting the Memorial next month. (Photo by Dave Shedloski)
On Tuesday, Maltbie appeared with Nicklaus and Graham at the annual Legends Luncheon at the Ohio Union at Ohio State University, which raised $1.5 million for Nationwide Childrenâs. During the program, Maltbie was presented with specially made replicas of the shirt and slacks.
Maltbie could only laugh after unwrapping the package containing the clothing. He then told the assembled audience, which included Ohio Lieutenant Governor and former OSU football coach Jim Tressel, that the original ensemble was put out of its misery not long after his victory, worth $40,000âor one percent of what the winner will take home this year in the $20 million signature event.
âThe true story is it was the bicentennial year. That was my homage to America,â said Maltbie, 74, whose last appearance in the Memorial Tournament was 2002. âThey weren't the most attractive pants. So I went home, and my buddies and I got together having a few beers, and they're riding me about how ugly these pants are. So I went in, got them, we doused them with lighter fluid and threw a match on them. They are no more.â
The shirt was easy to duplicate. The slacks, Maltbie said, were almost a perfect match. Not that anyone will see them, right?
Wrong.
âYou will see them in three weeks. I promise,â he said. âI will wear these.â Maltbie intends to slip into the outfit on Friday and wear it throughout the Golf Channel telecast. He added that might wear them again on Sunday. âYou never know. I might like them,â he said with a laugh.
Call it a fashion restatement.