| Gene Sarazen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sarazen in 1922 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Full name | Eugenio Saraceni | ||||||||
| Nickname | The Squire | ||||||||
| Born | (1902-02-27)February 27, 1902 Harrison, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | May 13, 1999(1999-05-13) (aged 97) Naples, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft5+1⁄2 in (166 cm) | ||||||||
| Weight | 162 lb (73 kg; 11.6 st) | ||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||||
| Residence | Brookfield, Connecticut, U.S. | ||||||||
| Spouse | Mary Sarazen (m. 1924–86, her death) | ||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
| Turned professional | 1920 | ||||||||
| Former tour | PGA Tour | ||||||||
| Professional wins | 48 | ||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||
| PGA Tour | 38 | ||||||||
| Other | 10 | ||||||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 7) | |||||||||
| Masters Tournament | Won:1935 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | Won:1922,1923,1933 | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | Won:1922,1932 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | Won:1932 | ||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||
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Gene Sarazen (/ˈsɑːrəzɛn/;[1] bornEugenio Saraceni,[2] February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an Americanprofessional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of sevenmajor championships. He is one of six players (along withBen Hogan,Gary Player,Jack Nicklaus,Tiger Woods, andRory McIlroy) to win each of the four majors at least once, now known as theCareer Grand Slam:U.S. Open (1922,1932),PGA Championship (1922,1923,1933),The Open Championship (1932),[3] andMasters Tournament (1935).
Eugenio Saraceni was born on February 27, 1902, inHarrison, New York.[4] He was anItalian American as his parents were poorSicilian immigrants.[5] He begancaddying at age ten at local golf clubs, took up golf himself, and gradually developed his skills; Sarazen was essentially self-taught. Somewhat novel at the time, he used the interlocking grip to hold the club.
He earned his spot in his firstU.S. Open in 1920 at age 18. Some say it was his greatest achievement as an amateur.
Sarazen took a series of club professional jobs in the New York area from his mid-teens. In 1921, he became a professional at Titusville (Pa.) Country Club, and he contracted to be the professional at Highland Country Club nearPittsburgh in 1922. Sarazen arrived in April, stocked the golf shop and gave a few lessons, but spent most of his time atOakmont Country Club practicing withEmil Loeffler. At some point, the pair visitedSkokie Country Club to practice on the course that would hold theU.S. Open; in July, he came from four shots behind to win the tournament.[6] He returned to Pittsburgh and was feted at theWilliam Penn Hotel, where he burst from apaper mâché golf ball.[7] He did not return to Highland CC, broke his contract and became a "touring" golf professional. Later that summer, he won thePGA Championship at Oakmont.
Sarazen was a contemporary and rival of amateurBobby Jones, who was born in the same year; he also had many battles withWalter Hagen, who was nine years older. Sarazen, Jones, and Hagen were the world's dominant players during the 1920s. Rivalries among the three great champions significantly expanded interest in golf around the world during this period, and made the United States the world's dominant golf power for the first time, taking over this position fromGreat Britain.
The winner of 38PGA tour events. He played on six U.S.Ryder Cup teams:1927,1929,1931,1933,1935, and1937.
Sarazen claimed to have invented the modernsand wedge,[8] and debuted the club (while keeping it secret during preliminary practice rounds) atThe Open Championship atPrince's Golf Club in 1932 (which he won). He called it the sand iron. The original club he used is no longer on display at Prince's as it is worth too much for the insurers to cover. However, a similar club was patented in 1928 by Edwin Kerr McClain, and it is possible Sarazen saw this club.[9]
Sarazen had previously struggled with his sand play and there had been earlier sand-specific clubs. But Bobby Jones's sand club, for example, had aconcave face, which actually contacted the ball twice during a swing; this design was later banned. Sarazen's innovation was to weld solder onto the lower back of the club, building up the flange so that it sat lower than the leading edge when soled. The flange, not the leading edge, would contact the sand first, and explode sand as the shot was played. The additional weight provided punch to power through the thick sand. Sarazen's newly developed technique with the new club was to contact the sand a couple of inches behind the ball, not actually contacting the ball at all on most sand shots.
Every top-class golfer since has utilized this wedge design and technique, and the same club design and method are also used by amateur players around the world. The sand wedge also began to be used by top players for shots from grass, shortly after Sarazen introduced it, and this led to a revolution in short-game techniques, along with lower scoring by players who mastered the skills.
Sarazen hit "the shot heard 'round the world" atAugusta National Golf Club on the fifteenth hole in the final round of the Masters Tournament in1935. He struck a spoon (the loft of the modern four wood) 232 yards (212 m) into the hole, scoring a double eagle. At the time he was trailingCraig Wood by three shots, and was then tied with him. He parred the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to preserve the tie. The following day, the pair played a 36-hole playoff, with Sarazen winning by five shots.
The Sarazen Bridge, approaching the left side of the 15th green, was named in1955 to commemorate the double eagle's twentieth anniversary,[10][11] which included a contest to duplicate, with the closest just over 4 feet (1.2 m) away.[12] It remains one of the most famous golf shots in golf history.
In spite of his height of5 ft5+1⁄2 in (1.66 m),[13] Sarazen was one of the longest hitters of his era. He played several lengthy exhibition tours around the world, promoting his skills and the sport of golf, and earned a very good living from golf. One of his American tours in 1940 was sponsored byGolf Magazine and he played a match every day for 60 days.[14] As a multiple past champion, he was eligible to continue competing after his best years were past, and occasionally did so in the top events, well into the 1960s, and occasionally into the 1970s. Throughout his life, Sarazen competed wearing knickers orplus-fours, which were the fashion when he broke into the top level.
For many years after his retirement, Sarazen was a familiar figure as an honorary starter at the Masters. From 1981 to 1999, he joinedByron Nelson andSam Snead in hitting a ceremonial tee shot before each Masters tournament. He also popularized the sport with his role as a commentator on theWonderful World of Golf television show, and was an early TV broadcaster at important events.
At age 71, Sarazen made ahole-in-one atThe Open Championship in1973, at the "Postage Stamp" atTroon inScotland. In 1992, he was voted theBob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Sarazen had what is still the longest-running endorsement contract in professional sports – withWilson Sporting Goods from 1923 until his death, a total of 75 years.[15]
In 1998, shortly before his death, the Sarazen Student Union at Siena College was named in his honor. He also established an endowed scholarship fund at the college, The Gene and Mary Sarazen Scholarship, which is awarded annually to students reflecting the high personal, athletic, and intellectual ideals of Dr. Sarazen. For many years, kitted in his signatureplus-fours, he hit the first ball in an annual golf tournament, held to raise funds for the scholarship.[16]
Sarazen died at age 97 in 1999 of complications frompneumonia inNaples, Florida. His wife Mary died 13 years earlier in 1986 with both interred at Marco Island Cemetery inMarco.[17]
Major championships are shown inbold.
Source:[21]
this list may be incomplete
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | U.S. Open | 4 shot deficit | +8 (72-73-75-68=288) | 1 stroke |  Bobby Jones |
| 1922 | PGA Championship | n/a | 4 & 3 | Emmet French | |
| 1923 | PGA Championship(2) | n/a | 38 holes | Walter Hagen | |
| 1932 | U.S. Open(2) | 1 shot deficit | +6 (74-76-70-66=286) | 3 strokes |  Bobby Cruickshank, Philip Perkins |
| 1932 | The Open Championship | 4 shot lead | −5 (70-69-70-74=283) | 5 strokes | Macdonald Smith |
| 1933 | PGA Championship(3) | n/a | 5 & 4 | Willie Goggin | |
| 1935 | Masters Tournament | 3 shot deficit | −6 (68-71-73-70=282) | Playoff1 | Craig Wood |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
1 Defeated Craig Wood in a 36-hole playoff - Sarazen 144 (Even), Wood 149 (+5)
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T30 | 17 | 1 | T16 | T17 | T5 | T3 | 3 | T6 | T3 |
| The Open Championship | T41 | 2 | T8 | |||||||
| PGA Championship | QF | 1 | 1 | R16 | R32 | R16 | QF | SF | QF |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 1 | 3 | T24 | T13 | 5 | |
| U.S. Open | T28 | T4 | 1 | T26 | 2 | T6 | T28 | T10 | 10 | T47 |
| The Open Championship | T3 | 1 | T3 | T21 | T5 | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | 2 | SF | DNQ | 1 | R16 | R32 | R64 | R32 | QF | R64 |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T21 | T19 | T28 | NT | NT | NT | T26 | T23 | T39 | |
| U.S. Open | 2 | T7 | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | T39 | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
| PGA Championship | QF | SF | NT | R64 | R16 | R16 | R32 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T10 | T12 | WD | T38 | T53 | WD | T49 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T38 | T35 | T33 | CUT | WD | CUT | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | T17 | T17 | WD | T16 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | R64 | R64 | R16 | CUT | WD |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | WD | 49 | WD | CUT | CUT | WD | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | WD | |||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| U.S. Open | |||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | WD | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | WD |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 17 |
| U.S. Open | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 33 | 26 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 11 |
| PGA Championship | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 31 | 27 |
| Totals | 7 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 42 | 59 | 115 | 81 |
Gene Sarazen in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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