Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Gene Sarazen" - New World

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Gene Sarazen (born Eugenio Saraceni) (February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) is one of only five golfers (along with Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods) to win all the major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam: U.S. Open in 1922, 1932, PGA Championship in 1922, 1923, 1933, British Open in 1932, and The Masters in 1935.

Early Life

Gene Sarazen was born on Februrary 27, 1902 into a two-family house in the workingmen's district of Harrison, New York. His father, Federico Saraceini was a carpenter who moved to America with the hope of making a fortune. His dad along with his mother Adela, sister Margaret and Gene lived in the croweded confinds in the upstairs level of a house and lived under poverty for much of Gene's childhood.

To help with his family's financial situation, Gene started to earn income by selling newspapers, running errands for neighbors, picking fruit for three cents a quart, and any other labor available for a child of his age. It was at the age of eight where Gene first heard of the sport of golf because of news his mother brought home from the grocery store. She told him of a neighbor's son who was hired as the caddy master atLarchmont Country Club, and that he needed "boys to carry the sticks for the rich people."

Gene couldn't wait to get started on the job, but it was difficult at first for the youngster because of how heavy the bags were. Not only did he have trouble carrying the clubs, he didn't know the difference between them either. Despite the troubles, Gene came home his first day with 45 cents, and was proud to show everyone of his accomplishment.

He continued to work as a caddy at the club for three years until the age of 11. Now a bigger, and more knowledgeble caddy, Sarazen moved to the bigger Apawamis Club where he had the chance to make more money. That same year, Francis Ouimet, a young Boston caddy upset British phenomonum Harry Vardon and pro golfer Ted Ray for the [U.S Open (Golf)|U.S Open] title, an accomplishment that helped raise the status of caddies all over the country. Due to the upset by Ouimet, the Apawamis Club allowed the caddies to hold a one-day tournament, in which Sarazen played hooky from school to particpate. Gene ended his round with a 105, a score good for dead last in the tournament.

The winner of 39 PGA Tournaments, Gene Sarazen was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He was the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1932, a charter member of the World Golf Hall of Fame (1974), and won the PGA Tour's first Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.

He played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, and 1937.

Sarazen invented the modern sand wedge and debuted the club at the British Open at Prince's Golf Club in 1932 (which he won). He called it the sand iron and his original club is still on display at Prince's.

Sarazen hit "The shot heard 'round the world" in the 1935 Masters. It was a final round 235-yard 4-wood on the par-5 15th hole that went in, giving him a very rare double eagle 2 on the hole. It led to his later winning the tournament in a playoff over Craig Wood. At the time of his second shot a check for $1500, the winning prize, had already been written to Craig Wood.

For many years after his retirement, Sarazen was a familiar figure as an honorary starter at the Masters. From 1981-1999, he joined Byron Nelson and Sam Snead in hitting a ceremonial tee shot before each Masters tournament. He also popularized the sport with his role as a commentator on the Wonderful World of Golf television show.

At the age of 71, Sarazan made a hole-in-one at the 1973 Open Championship.

In 1992, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Asked how to say his name, he told the Literary Digest "Veteran Gene Sarazen/ Aims to play par again": (IPA pronunciation: ['sɑrəzɛn]). (Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)

PGA Tour wins (39)

1922 (3) Southern (Spring) Open, U.S. Open, PGA Championship
1923 (1) PGA Championship
1925 (1) Metropolitan Open
1926 (1) Miami Open
1927 (3) Long Island Open, Miami Open, Metropolitan PGA
1928 (4) Miami Beach Open, Miami Open, Nassau Bahamas Open, Metropolitan PGA
1929 (2) Miami Open, Miami Beach Open
1930 (8) Miami Open, Agua Caliente Open, Florida West Coast Open, Concord Country Club Open, United States Pro Invitational, Western Open, Lannin Memorial Tournament, Middle Atlantic Open
1931 (3) Florida West Coast Open, La Gorce Open, Lannin Memorial Tournament
1932 (4) True Temper Open, Coral Gables Open Invitational, U.S. Open, British Open
1933 (1) PGA Championship
1935 (3) The Masters, Massachusetts Open, Long Island Open
1937 (2) Florida West Coast Open, Chicago Open
1938 (1) Lake Placid Open
1941 (1) Miami Biltmore International Four-Ball (with Ben Hogan)

(missing one win)

Major championships are shown in bold.

Senior wins

1954 PGA Seniors' Championship
1958 PGA Seniors' Championship

Major Championships

Wins (7)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runners 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	4 strokes	Emmet French
1923	PGA Championship (2)	N/A	38^th hole	1 stroke	Walter Hagen
1932	U.S. Open (2)	1 shot deficit	+6 (74-76-70-66=286)	3 strokes	Bobby Cruickshank, Phil Perkins
1932	The Open Championship	4 shot lead	(70-69-70-74=283)	5 strokes	Macdonald Smith
1933	PGA Championship (3)	N/A	5 & 4	5 strokes	Willie Goggin
1935	The Masters	3 shot deficit	-6 (68-71-73-70=282)	Playoff ¹	Craig Wood

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
¹ Defeated Craig Wood in 36-hole playoff - Sarazen (144), Wood (149)

Results timeline

Tournament	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF
U.S. Open	T30	17	1	T16	T17	T5	T3	3	T6	T3
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	F?	DNP	DNP	DNP	2	9
PGA Championship	DNP	QF	1	1	R16	R32	R16	QF	SF	QF

Tournament	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
The Masters	NYF	NYF	NYF	NYF	DNP	1	3	T24	T13	5
U.S. Open	T28	T4	1	T26	2	T6	T28	T10	10	T47
The Open Championship	DNP	T3	1	T3	T19	DNP	T5	CUT	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	F	SF	DNP	1	R16	R32	R64	R32	QF	R64

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
The Masters	T21	T19	T29	NT	NT	NT	DNP	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	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	QF	SF	DNP	NT	DNP	R64	DNP	R16	R16	R32

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	T10	T12	WD	T36	T53	WD	T49	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	T38	T35	T33	CUT	WD	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	T17	DNP	T17	DNP	WD	DNP	T16	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	R64	DNP	DNP	DNP	R64	QF	DNP	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	CUT	CUT	WD	49	WD	CUT	CUT	WD	DNP	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
The Masters	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	WD
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
F? = Finish unknown
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF, F = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10 and R16 or better performance in PGA Championship match play pre-1958.

External links

World Golf Hall of Fame profile
Gene Sarazen Profile at Golf Legends

Preceded by:
Pepper Martin

Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year
1932

Succeeded by:
Carl Hubbell

The Masters champions

1934 Horton Smith · 1935 Gene Sarazen · 1936 Horton Smith · 1937 Byron Nelson · 1938 Henry Picard · 1939 Ralph Guldahl · 1940 Jimmy Demaret · 1941 Craig Wood · 1942 Byron Nelson · 1943-45 Cancelled due to World War II · 1946 Herman Keiser · 1947 Jimmy Demaret · 1948 Claude Harmon · 1949 Sam Snead · 1950 Jimmy Demaret · 1951 Ben Hogan · 1952 Sam Snead · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Sam Snead · 1955 Cary Middlecoff · 1956 Jack Burke, Jr · 1957 Doug Ford · 1958 Arnold Palmer · 1959 Art Wall, Jr. · 1960 Arnold Palmer · 1961 Gary Player · 1962 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Jack Nicklaus · 1964 Arnold Palmer · 1965-66 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Gay Brewer · 1968 Bob Goalby · 1969 George Archer · 1970 Billy Casper · 1971 Charles Coody · 1972 Jack Nicklaus · 1973 Tommy Aaron · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Jack Nicklaus · 1976 Raymond Floyd · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Gary Player · 1979 Fuzzy Zoeller · 1980 Severiano Ballesteros · 1981 Tom Watson · 1982 Craig Stadler · 1983 Severiano Ballesteros · 1984 Ben Crenshaw · 1985 Bernhard Langer · 1986 Jack Nicklaus · 1987 Larry Mize · 1988 Sandy Lyle · 1989-90 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Woosnam · 1992 Fred Couples · 1993 Bernhard Langer · 1994 José María Olazábal· 1995 Ben Crenshaw · 1996 Nick Faldo · 1997 Tiger Woods · 1998 Mark O'Meara · 1999 José María Olazábal · 2000 Vijay Singh · 2001-02 Tiger Woods · 2003 Mike Weir · 2004 Phil Mickelson · 2005 Tiger Woods · 2006 Phil Mickelson · 2007 Zach Johnson· 2008 Trevor Immelman· 2009 Ángel Cabrera· 2010 Phil Mickelson· 2011 Charl Schwartzel· 2012 Bubba Watson· 2013 Adam Scott· 2014 Bubba Watson· 2015 Jordan Spieth·

U.S. Open champions

1895 Horace Rawlins · 1896 James Foulis · 1897 Joe Lloyd · 1898 Fred Herd · 1899 Willie Smith · 1900 Harry Vardon · 1901 Willie Anderson · 1902 Laurie Auchterlonie · 1903-04-05 Willie Anderson · 1906 Alex Smith · 1907 Alec Ross · 1908 Fred McLeod · 1909 George Sargent · 1910 Alex Smith · 1911-12 John McDermott · 1913 Francis Ouimet · 1914 Walter Hagen · 1915 Jerome Travers · 1916 Chick Evans · 1917-18 Cancelled due to World War I · 1919 Walter Hagen · 1920 Ted Ray · 1921 Jim Barnes · 1922 Gene Sarazen · 1923 Bobby Jones · 1924 Cyril Walker · 1925 Willie Macfarlane · 1926 Bobby Jones · 1927 Tommy Armour · 1928 Johnny Farrell · 1929-30 Bobby Jones · 1931 Billy Burke · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Johnny Goodman · 1934 Olin Dutra · 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. · 1936 Tony Manero · 1937-38 Ralph Guldahl · 1939 Byron Nelson · 1940 Lawson Little · 1941 Craig Wood · 1942-45 Cancelled due to World War II · 1946 Lloyd Mangrum · 1947 Lew Worsham · 1948 Ben Hogan · 1949 Cary Middlecoff · 1950-51 Ben Hogan · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Ed Furgol · 1955 Jack Fleck · 1956 Cary Middlecoff · 1957 Dick Mayer · 1958 Tommy Bolt · 1959 Billy Casper · 1960 Arnold Palmer · 1961 Gene Littler · 1962 Jack Nicklaus · 1963 Julius Boros · 1964 Ken Venturi · 1965 Gary Player · 1966 Billy Casper · 1967 Jack Nicklaus · 1968 Lee Trevino · 1969 Orville Moody · 1970 Tony Jacklin · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Jack Nicklaus · 1973 Johnny Miller · 1974 Hale Irwin · 1975 Lou Graham · 1976 Jerry Pate · 1977 Hubert Green · 1978 Andy North · 1979 Hale Irwin · 1980 Jack Nicklaus · 1981 David Graham · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Larry Nelson · 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller · 1985 Andy North · 1986 Raymond Floyd · 1987 Scott Simpson · 1988-89 Curtis Strange · 1990 Hale Irwin · 1991 Payne Stewart · 1992 Tom Kite · 1993 Lee Janzen · 1994 Ernie Els · 1995 Corey Pavin · 1996 Steve Jones · 1997 Ernie Els · 1998 Lee Janzen · 1999 Payne Stewart · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 Retief Goosen · 2002 Tiger Woods · 2003 Jim Furyk · 2004 Retief Goosen · 2005 Michael Campbell · 2006 Geoff Ogilvy · 2007 Ángel Cabrera · 2008 Tiger Woods · 2009 Lucas Glover · 2010 Graeme McDowell · 2011 Rory McIlroy · 2012 Webb Simpson · 2013 Justin Rose · 2014 Martin Kaymer · 2015 Jordan Spieth

The Open champions

1860 Willie Park, Snr. · 1861-62 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Snr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Snr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868-69-70 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Snr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877-78-79 Jamie Anderson · 1880-81-82 Bob Ferguson · 1883 Willie Fernie · 1884 Jack Simpson · 1885 Bob Martin · 1886 David Brown · 1887 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1888 Jack Burns · 1889 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1890 John Ball · 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy · 1892 Harold Hilton · 1893 William Auchterlonie · 1894-95 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton · 1898-99 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905-06 James Braid · 1907 Arnaud Massy · 1908 James Braid · 1909 John Henry Taylor · 1910 James Braid · 1911 Harry Vardon · 1912 Edward Ray · 1913 John Henry Taylor · 1914 Harry Vardon · 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I · 1920 George Duncan · 1921 Jock Hutchison · 1922 Walter Hagen · 1923 Arthur Havers · 1924 Walter Hagen · 1925 Jim Barnes · 1926-27 Bobby Jones · 1928-29 Walter Hagen · 1930 Bobby Jones· 1931 Tommy Armour · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Denny Shute · 1934 Henry Cotton · 1935 Alf Perry · 1936 Alf Padgham · 1937 Henry Cotton · 1939 Richard Burton (golfer) · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949-50 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954-55-56 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961-62 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Bob Charles · 1964 Tony Lema · 1965 Peter Thomson · 1966 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Roberto DeVicenzo · 1968 Gary Player · 1969 Tony Jacklin · 1970 Jack Nicklaus · 1971-72 Lee Trevino · 1973 Tom Weiskopf · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Tom Watson · 1976 Johnny Miller · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Severiano Ballesteros · 1980 Tom Watson · 1981 Bill Rogers · 1982-83 Tom Watson · 1984 Severiano Ballesteros · 1985 Sandy Lyle · 1986 Greg Norman · 1987 Nick Faldo · 1988 Severiano Ballesteros · 1989 Mark Calcavecchia · 1990 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Baker-Finch · 1992 Nick Faldo · 1993 Greg Norman · 1994 Nick Price · 1995 John Daly · 1996 Tom Lehman · 1997 Justin Leonard · 1998 Mark O'Meara · 1999 Paul Lawrie · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 David Duval · 2002 Ernie Els · 2003 Ben Curtis · 2004 Todd Hamilton · 2005-06 Tiger Woods · 2007-08 Pádraig Harrington · 2009 Stewart Cink · 2010 Louis Oosthuizen · 2011 Darren Clarke · 2012 Ernie Els · 2013 Phil Mickelson · 2014 Rory McIlroy · 2015 Zach Johnson

Template:PGA Champions

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History of "Gene Sarazen"

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 [[The Masters Tournament|The Masters]] in 1935.
-He was born in [[Harrison, New York]] and died on [[Marco Island, Florida]].
+==Early Life==
+Gene Sarazen was born on [[Februrary 27, 1902]] into a two-family house in the workingmen's district of [[Harrison, New York]]. His father, Federico Saraceini was a carpenter who moved to [[America]] with the hope of making a fortune. His dad along with his mother Adela,  sister Margaret and Gene lived in the croweded confinds in the upstairs level of a house and lived under poverty for much of Gene's childhood.
+To help with his family's financial situation, Gene started to earn income by selling newspapers, running errands for neighbors, picking fruit for three cents a quart, and any other labor available for a child of his age. It was at the age of eight where Gene first heard of the sport of golf because of news his mother brought home from the grocery store. She told him of a neighbor's son who was hired as the caddy master at[[Larchmont Country Club]], and that he needed "boys to carry the sticks for the rich people."
+Gene couldn't wait to get started on the job, but it was difficult at first for the youngster because of how heavy the bags were. Not only did he have trouble carrying the clubs, he didn't know the difference between them either. Despite the troubles, Gene came home his first day with 45 cents, and was proud to show everyone of his accomplishment.
+He continued to work as a caddy at the club for three years until the age of 11. Now a bigger, and more knowledgeble caddy, Sarazen moved to the bigger [[Apawamis Club]] where he had the chance to make more money.  That same year, [[Francis Ouimet]], a young [[Boston]] [[caddy]] upset British phenomonum [[Harry Vardon]] and pro golfer [[Ted Ray]] for the [U.S Open (Golf)|U.S Open] title, an accomplishment that helped raise the status of caddies all over the country. Due to the upset by Ouimet, the [[Apawamis Club]] allowed the caddies to hold a one-day tournament, in which Sarazen played hooky from school to particpate. Gene ended his round with a 105, a score good for dead last in the tournament.
 The winner of 39 [[Professional Golfers Association of America|PGA]] Tournaments, Gene Sarazen was inducted into the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]] in 1974. He was the [[Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year]] in [[1932]], a charter member of the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]] (1974), and won the PGA Tour's first [[PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]] in 1996.