Gene Sarazen: Golf
Gene Sarazen (February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was a professional American golfer who dominated the sport during the 1920s and 1930s. Sarazen invented the modern sand wedge. He was the first to achieve a grand slam of the U.S. and British Opens, the PGA championship and the Masters Tour. Gene Sarazen was only in his 20s when he started his long and fruitful career.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Sarazen turned professional in 1920 with 47 professional wins. He is a Hall of Famer of the World Golf who won 39 PGA Tours, seven major championships. He received the PGA Tour Lifetime Award in 1996, the Bob Jones Award in 1992 and the 1932 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award. Sarazen also played on the U.S. Ryder Cup teams six times.
Why Was He So Good?
Gene Sarazen stood 5 feet and 5.5 inches tall but he could very well hit a ball the longest way possible compared to other larger and stronger players. Even when he was getting older, he still continued to play and became a huge role on different golfing championships including the Masters. He isn’t the 11th greatest golfer of all time mentioned by Golf Digest magazine for nothing.
What You May Not Know
- Sarazen’s double eagle on the fifteenth hole in the last round of the 1935 Masters continues to be one of the greatest shots of golf’s history.
- Gene Sarazen was born Eugenio Saraceni to a working-class Italian immigrant family.
- Aside from his golfing abilities, he is also known for inventing the modern sand wedge after the ban of sand wedges with concave faces.
- His innovations also included a weighted practice club.
- During the time of his death in 1999, Gene Sarazen became the oldest and longest-serving member of PGA of America. He was 97 when he died.
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Related Pages
- More legendary Golf players
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of Golf
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