Gene Sarazen
| Gene Sarazen | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
Sarazen with the PGA Championship trophy
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Eugenio Saraceni |
| Nickname | The Squire |
| Born |
February 27, 1902 Harrison, New York |
| Died | May 13, 1999 (aged 97) Naples, Florida |
| Height | 5 ft 5.5 in (1.66 m) |
| Weight | 162 lb (73 kg; 11.6 st) |
| Nationality |
 United States
|
| Spouse | Mary Sarazen (m. 1924–86, her death) |
| Children | Mary Ann, Gene Jr. |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1920 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 48 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 39 (tied 11th all time) |
| Other | 9 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 7) |
|
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1935 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1922, 1932 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 1932 |
| PGA Championship | Won: 1922, 1923, 1933 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 1974 (member page) |
| PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award |
1996 |
| Bob Jones Award | 1992 |
| Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year |
1932 |
Gene Sarazen (/ˈsɑːrəzɛn/; February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers (along with Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods) to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam: U.S. Open in 1922, 1932, PGA Championship in 1922, 1923, 1933, The Open Championship in 1932, and Masters Tournament in 1935.
Sarazen was born in Harrison, New York as Eugenio Saraceni to a poor family of Sicilian immigrants. Sarazen began caddying at age ten at local golf clubs, took up golf himself, and gradually developed his skills; he was essentially self-taught. He used the somewhat unusual, at the time, interlocking grip to hold the club.
Sarazen took a series of club professional jobs in the New York area from his mid-teens, and worked hard on his game. Sarazen won his first major championships – the 1922 U.S. Open and PGA Championship – at age 20. He was a contemporary and great rival of Bobby Jones, who was born in the same year; Sarazen also had many great battles with Walter Hagen, who was about ten 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 from Great Britain.
...
Wikipedia