A brief obituary is inadequate to summarize the life of any person, much less that of Peter deYoung, a golf industry legend who passed away May 12 in Pinehurst, North Carolina at the age of 78.
In the Chicago District, Mr. deYoung was best known as tournament director for the Western Golf Association (WGA), where he administered the Western Open (now the BMW Championship), Western Amateur and Western Junior tournaments, three of golf’s oldest and most consequential competitions. He worked at the WGA from 1977-1993 and oversaw Western Opens at Butler National and Cog Hill.
An exceptional promoter, Mr. deYoung started the “celebrity shootout” concept on Tuesdays of Western Open week, bringing major stars, including Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, Larry Bird, Mike Ditka and Jim McMahon, to play a round of golf at the tournament course in front of large galleries. Mr. deYoung was especially close with Jordan, who presented him with one of his Bulls championship rings at Mr. deYoung’s 50th birthday party and spoke with him in his final days, as did many PGA Tour pros.
Mr. deYoung was known for setting high standards and enforcing them with his imperious glare, booming voice and a no-nonsense manner. His demanding leadership style combined toughness with an ability to deal with all kinds of people. “He was tough, but for me he was a good teacher,” said Rob Cray, who worked as Mr. de Young’s assistant and now produces events from the Super Bowl halftime show to Lollapalooza. “He was a good leader. He knew how to motivate people. He had a great sense of humor. He made it fun.” From PGA Tour players and their spouses to hundreds of tournament volunteers to network television production personnel to the many tournament vendors working at the course, Mr. deYoung was “The Man” and everyone knew it. When conducting amateur tournaments, his goal was to make contestants feel they were competing in a pro-level event.
Mr. deYoung was an innovator. “He was the first tournament director to have free range balls, to have courtesy cars for the players, to have childcare for the players,” said Dr. Kevin Most, former chief medical officer at Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital, who has overseen the Western/BMW on-site volunteer medical services facility since deYoung recruited him in 1988.
After his time at the WGA, Mr. deYoung was instrumental in helping the CDGA resurrect the Chicago Open in 1998, which raised money for the CDGA Foundation. That event eventually would morph into the LaSalle Bank Open and become a Nationwide Tour event (now Korn Ferry Tour) that Mr. deYoung administered. He was also the tournament director for the Ameritech Senior Open and the 2000 U.S. Women's Open (where yours truly worked for him as media director) among others. In Pinehurst, he founded the Winternational Junior Series at Pinehurst for boys and girls, which still endures 30 years later.
Mr. deYoung was a devoted family man, who doted on his wife, Susan, revered his sons Eric and Michael and their spouses, and treasured his grandchildren.
A memorial service was held in Pinehurst on May 24th. —Barry Cronin
David Ogilvie III was born into golf and stayed there his entire life. As enthusiastic a teacher as could be found, Ogilvie was the head professional at Flossmoor Country Club for over three decades and a teacher of select students almost until his death on March 30 from complications of the multiple sclerosis he long battled. He was 89.
The Illinois Golf Hall of Famer was named the PGA’s national professional of the year in 1986, was a three-time Illinois PGA professional of the year and a winner of the Horton Smith Award. None of those honors begins to explain the man with the gift of finding a change or two in someone’s swing that would make a big difference in their score and confidence, or his caustic and invariably hilarious sense of humor.
He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his father was professional at the Oakwood Club. After graduating from Wake Forest – Arnold Palmer recommended him for a golf scholarship – he apprenticed at Oakwood before a stint as head pro at Country Club of Peoria before Flossmoor beckoned. There he stayed and will forever be remembered.
John Spiroplaus’ time at Olympia Fields Country Club covered many of the years his neighbor Ogilvie was around the corner at Flossmoor. The PGA of America master professional died May 10 in Powder Springs, Georgia at 91.
Spiroplaus, whose back-ground was as much sales as golf, had two stints at Olympia Fields. In his first run (1973–1989), he revamped the pro shop and in the second (1996–2000) helped guide the club back into the tournament scene when it hosted the 1997 U.S. Senior Open. An expert on the Rules of Golf, he worked several major championships as a rules official, chaired the Illinois PGA Rules Committee and was the Illinois PGA professional of the year in 1983. He was twice awarded the section’s Horton Smith Award.
Like Ogilvie, Spiroplaus served his members to the full. Christmas would see the golf shop turned into a department store, with all manner of small appliances, even portable TVs on occasion.
Between his Olympia tenures, Spiroplaus was director of golf at the LaCosta resort in California. He finished his career at Marietta Country Club in Georgia.
Lou Graham’s greatest five days in golf came at Medinah Country Club in 1975. It was there and then he won the U.S. Open, defeating John Mahaffey in an 18-hole playoff for the biggest of his six victories as a professional. Graham died May 11. He was 88.
They had tied at 3-over 287, but on a sweltering Monday, Graham scored even-par 71 on the original No. 3 layout to Mahaffey’s 2-over 73 to capture the title and the $40,000 first prize. —Tim Cronin
