The reminiscent memories of 1980s and top 15 golfers of that time
Yuppies, Dinkies, Minkies, Jollies, cold wars, Guerrilla wars, the nuclear meltdown, arcade games, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Chrysler and Pac-man like nouns always manage to evoke a serene 1980 aroma all around the 21st technical
century. Where many critics would mark the 80s an era of moving forward, a golfer would certainly mark it as a period of evolution.
The 1980s is known to be the turning point for the civilization and for the society overall. However, the era wasn’t just about the economic liberalisation alone - it also engulfed the golf, the golfers and the golf clubs.
The change was, however, much apparent on the increased frequency of television coverage which aided to the game’s popularity many folds. Even though most of the top-class 70s golfers like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer subdued in their popularity in the
1980s, the game itself grew out to be bigger and better than before.
The 1980s had a long list of golfers that emerged from the 1970s Led Zeppelin culture to enter the 1980s with Duran-Duran tunes and has 15 golfers in store that turned out to be the ruling ‘Gurus’.
The era of amusement
Craig Stadler enjoyed the 1980 decade the most and stands at the bottom of our top 15 list. He is the eight-time winner of the PGA Tour and won one major in the year of 1982, marking his sole Major triumph.
The Masters witnessed the Walrus defeating the golfer Dan Pohl in the playoff. Apart from the interesting name given to him, another interesting fact about Stadler was after 1982 win, the golfer never finished ahead of position number 6 in any Major he appeared
in.
The man from the 70s
Lee Trevino had been able to display an amazing form in the 1970s era and stepped further into the eighties with a new zeal to succeed. He won a total of 6 matches of the PGA Championship where he collected his final major title in 1984.
Trevino continued playing his amazing game and continued his performance in the majors. The golfer was more famous in the earlier part of the decade and ended eight of his games in the top ten. From the total of his top ten finish, he ended up in the top
5 five times.
Lee Trevino’s game saw the same uphill transformation from the 70s to the 80s like the Jackson 5 popularity evolving into the King of the Pop Michael Jackson legend.
Fuzzy Zoeller
Zoeller appeared in the American Ryder Cup Team two times in 1983 and 1985. His 80s era handed him a total of 8 victories including the U.S. Open title in 1984. Zoeller is most famous for his 1984’s U.S. Open where he defeated Greg Norman.
Norman and Zoeller were tied for the first place at the 84’s Open and held the lead with 5 strokes in the beginning. The second round, however, turned around the leader board standings and Zoeller surged forward to the lead with 8 strokes winning the tournament.
Norman’s elimination came on an important day in the course of history, the assassination of Indian Prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Where it gave thousands of Zoeller’s fans to celebrate, on the other part of the world countless were rapt over the
death of their beloved leader.
Payne Stewart
Like the overblown long hairstyles that were tamed and straightened after their transformation from the 80s to the 90s, Payne also performed much better in the nineties.
The 80s weren’t that bad for Payne or the hair styles for that matter. Like the Purdey haircut and the Diana’s bobbed combed forward style grabbed the attention of many people, Stewart seized the masses through his 5 victories with three Majors.
Payne played the first of his three Majors in the 1989 PGA Championship, which was the last major Championship of the year. The event was held at the Kemper Lakes Golf Club where Stewart held the lead over Andy Bean, Mike Reid and Curtis Strange with one
stroke.
The happy-go-lucky golfer played his first two Ryder Cups in 1987 and 1989. His first-class performance at the event places him at the 13th position in the top 1980’s golfer list.
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