From a humble, hardscrabble beginning to the pinnacle of stardom on the PGA TOUR, to a tragic ending that came way too soon, the Tony Lema story is one of love, faith, and redemption.

 

After his father died when he was three years old, Tony was raised by his mother, Clotilda, who held down two jobs to put food on the table, and a roof over the heads of her four children: Tony, the youngest, his brothers Walter and Harry, and his sister Bernice. Clotilda instilled in her children the faith that would lead them through life.

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Lacking the guiding hand that a father would have provided, Tony often found himself in trouble and struggled in the battle between his Catholic faith with his wild youthful ways. It was a desire to help his mother with the financial burden she faced that led Tony to what would become the stabilizing lodestar for the rest of his life. 

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Learning from his brother Walter that there was money to be made as a golf caddie, Tony made his way up the hills east of Oakland to Lake Chabot Golf Course, a public course that attracted players from all walks of life. The athletic youth instantly fell in love with the game, and with a cobbled together set of clubs, he was soon competing in junior tournaments and experiencing some success.

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With an intense desire to improve and take his game to a higher level, he was soon introduced to Lucious Bateman, a driving range golf instructor who was especially gifted in teaching young players the golf swing and the mental game needed to become a champion. Bateman provided golf lessons to many young players for free if they agreed to work at the driving range picking up and cleaning balls.

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Bateman was never a member of the PGA of America due to the Caucasian-only clause in the organization’s bylaws. Bateman was Black yet almost all his young golf students were white. His group of students became known as the “Bateman Boys” and nine of the members of this group matriculated to the PGA TOUR and have 31 titles to their names, including Tony Lema’s major championship, the 1964 Open Championship at St. Andrews.

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Tony forever credited Bateman for what he taught him about the golf swing, but more importantly, what he taught him about the mental side of the game. He also taught life lessons to his students, especially how to deal with the racism and classism of the times. To this day, and to a man, these Bateman Boys insist that Lucious never allowed the racism of the day to deter him and rose above it as he mentored his young students.

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Through high school, a stint in the Marines, his days as a club pro in San Francisco and Elko, Nevada, and into the first years he played the PGA TOUR, Tony sowed his wild oats as a bachelor. As a result, he did not achieve much success on the biggest stage in golf. It wasn’t until he met, and fell in love with, an airline flight attendant named Betty Cline that his attitude began to change, and he announced himself as a force to be reckoned with on the tour. A runner-up finish in the 1963 Masters tournament provide the financial and confidence boost for him to marry Betty.

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Having his new wife by his side as he travelled to the various tour stops provided a grounding that allowed Tony to excel. He soon started to experience success on the tour that annually placed him near the top of the leading money winner list and resulted in numerous victories including his groundbreaking win in The Open Championship.

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During his successful years on tour, he found a deeper devotion to his Catholic faith. He attended mass on most Sundays, even during weeks he played in tournaments when services would sometimes be conducted in the clubhouse of the host course. He often corresponded with the sisters from St. Elizabeth Parish in Oakland, California, his hometown. He also made financial contributions to the Poor Clare Colettines of Los Altos Hills in Northern California.

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This Catholic religious order of women vowed a lifestyle based on the Rule written by Saint Clare more than 800 years ago. As a young boy, Tony was fascinated by the praying of the women that he could hear coming from behind the thick curtains that obscured them.

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After finally achieving the kind of success that he dreamed of on the PGA TOUR, and with a loving and adoring wife by his side, fate intervened putting a tragic end to the Tony Lema story. Flying in a small plane, along with his wife, Betty, from the 1966 PGA Championship to a fundraiser in Michigan, the plane experienced fuel problems and crashed, on a golf course of all places, killing all on board.

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Tony Lema was a shooting star whose bright light was extinguished far too soon. This feature length documentary, Golfingly Yours, Champagne Tony Lema, is based on the book, Uncorked, The Life and Times of Tony Lema by Larry Baush. It will memorialize this most amazing and interesting life and those around him including his remarkable African American teacher Lucious Bateman, himself banned from the caucasian-only PGA TOUR. The cast of characters in the film include all the biggest names in the history of professional golf including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Bruce Devlin, and many others.

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It is truly a story of love, faith, and redemption.