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Quotable moment: Billy Graham played a round with JFK in Palm Beach

The Rev. Billy Graham was presented an honorary doctorate degree by Palm Beach Atlantic in 1997. (Scott Wiseman/The Palm Beach Post)
The Rev. Billy Graham was presented an honorary doctorate degree by Palm Beach Atlantic in 1997. (Scott Wiseman/The Palm Beach Post)
By Shannon Donnelly
Feb 25, 2018

Did you think we were going to let the late Billy Graham go to his heavenly reward without a Palm Beach anecdote?

We’re not.

And, of course, it’s a golf story, related by a Graham biographer.

After John F. Kennedy defeated Graham’s pal Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, he invited the preacher-to-presidents down to Palm Beach for a round or two.

Round meaning golf, not alcohol.

During the game at the Palm Beach Country Club, Graham missed a putt.

“Kennedy said, jokingly, ‘Well, I thought you were a good golfer,’” wrote biographer Professor Grant Wacker of Duke Divinity School. “Graham rolled with it, replying, ‘I am when I’m not playing with the president of the United States.’”

About the Author

Shannon Donnelly
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