Born Eugenio Saraceni in New York on the 27th February 1902, Gene Sarazen changed his name on account of the fact that he was born into an Italian-American family and felt he might not be accepted at golf clubs at the time. If you want to get a sense of just how good a golfer he was, he is one of just five players to win a Career Grand Slam by winning each of the Majors at least once, which puts him alongside Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods; some achievement for a person who was essentially self-taught.
Sarazen began his golfing career as a caddy when he was ten-years-old, working at clubs around the local area and developing his skills, even being somewhat ahead of his time by using the interlocking grip technique. Soon he was working as a professional in clubs, including playing at Skokie Country Club where he came from four shots behind to win the US Open in 1922. Playing at the same time as both Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, it is perhaps no surprise that the three became professional rivals, which eventually helped to make golf more globally popular.
A man who claimed to have invented the modern sand wedge, calling it the sand iron, Sarazen will also go down in golfing history of hitting the ‘shot heard ’round the world’. He was only short for a modern golfer, coming in at five foot five and a half, but was able to make a good living from golf throughout his life. Between 1981 and 1999, he, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead would hit a ceremonial tee shot to kick-start the Masters Tournament. He died in 1999 at the age of 97-years-old, 13 years after his wife Mary had passed away.
Gene Sarazen’s Major Wins
| Years | Masters | US PGA | U.S. Open | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | ✕ | ✅ | ✅ | ✕ |
| 1923 | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 1932 | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 1933 | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 1935 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Masters Wins: 1
If you are going to have an association with a competition like the Masters Tournament then why not hit a shot that is so famous it results in a bridge being named after you? That is precisely what Gene Sarazen did in 1935, striking the ‘shot heard around the world’ when he scored a Double Eagle in order to pull level with Craig Wood. The Sarazen Bridge was named after him in 1955 and players attempted to recreate the shot, with the closest anyone got being more than four foot away. Even more impressive was the fact that it was his debut year playing in the Masters, which he played in on-and-off until the 1973 iteration.
1935 – ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World’ Forces Playoff to Complete Career Grand Slam
There were 65 players making up the field for the 1935 Masters Tournament at Augusta National, with the competition only in its second year and known as the ‘Augusta National Invitational Tournament’. He ended the first round just one shot off the lead, tied-second with 68. On day two he carded a 71 to maintain his place but sit four shots off the leader. On day three he managed to card a 73 and was fourth, offered little chance. The ‘shot heard around the world’ on the final day helped him card a 70 and finish on -6, scoring 282 for the week and forcing the play-off. He won that by five strokes to claim his only Masters win.
PGA Championship Wins: 3
The PGA Championship was a match play event for much of the tournament’s early existence, with Sarazen being knocked out in the quarter-finals when he first took part in it in 1921. He then won it for two successive years before being knocked out in the round of 16, the round of 32 and the round of 16 again. Two quarter-final exists came either side of a semi-final appearance in 1928, then in 1930 he came second. Another semi-final was followed up by a failure to qualify, with Sarazen winning it for the third and final time in 1933. Even so, he kept on taking part on and off for the years that followed, with his best performance being the semi-finals in 1941.
1922 – French Defeated 4&3 in Final
The 1922 version of the PGA Championship was played at Oakmont Country in Pennsylvania, with a field of 64 players taking part in the six rounds of match play golf. In round one, Sarazen was drawn to play against Tom Mahan and emerged with a 3&2 win, which resulted in a match against Willie Ogg in round two. He won that 2&1, emerging from round three against Frank Sprogell with a 9&7 victory. His quarter-final match put him head-to-head with Jock Hutchison, winning 3&1 in order to go up against Bobby Cruickshank in the semi-final. He won that 3&2 before defeating Emmet French 4&3 in the final.
1923 – Hogan Beaten Over 38 Holes
It was off to Pelham Country Club in New York for the PGA Championship of 1923, with 64 players once again going into the match play part of the competition. Sarazen was well-fancied as the defending champion, emerging from the first round with a comfortable 8&7 win over Lloyd Gullickson. It was D. K. White in the second round, with Sarazen emerging with a 11&10 win. He won 3&2 over Alec Campbell, meaning a quarter-final match against Jim Barnes, which he won 1 up. In the semi-final it was the same opponent as the previous year, beating Bobby Cruickshank 7&5 before a 38-hole win over Walter Hagen in the final.
1933 – Third Match Play Major
The PGA Championship was hosted by Blue Mound Country Club in Wisconsin in 1933, with 100 players taking to the field before being reduced to 32 after the cut in order to decide who got to take part in the match play. When he made it into the quarter-final, Sarazen was up against Ed Dudley and won 6&5. That meant a match against Johnny Farrell in the semi-finals, which Sarazen won 5&4 to put him in another final. This time it was against Willie Goggin, who had defeated Paul Runyan and Jimmy Hines in the quarters and semis respectively. Sarazen won his third and final PGA Championship 5&4 after another 36 hole thriller.
US Open Wins: 2
The US Open was the first tournament that Gene Sarazen took part in, going on to win it twice during an era that he dominated golf alongside Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. His first foray into the competition was in 1920 which saw him end up tied-30th. He was 17th a year later before notching up his first win in 1922 in the same year that he won his first PGA Championship. In the 1930s, the lowest that he finished in the US Open was tied-47th in 1939, both winning it and coming second in the same period. He finished second again in 1940 but never came close to winning it again, missing the cut in his final entry in 1958.
1922 – Single Shot Win for First Major
Skokie Country Club in Illinois was the scene of Gene Sarazen’s first US Open win, with a field of 78 players looking to emerge victorious. He ended his first round tied-third and four shots off Walter Hagen in the lead, carding a +2 score of 72. A 77 in his second round kept him in tied-third but moved him a shot closer to John Black in the lead, then a third round score of 75 meant he was four from Bobby Jones in the lead. He saved the best for last, though, carding a 68 in his final round on the Saturday afternoon, allowing him to shoot to the top when everyone else in the top ten scored in the 70s. In the end, he won by one shot.
1932 – Sarazen Secures Second Major in a Month
It was another decade before Sarazen won the the US Open again, heading to the original course at Fresh Meadow Country Club, New York alongside 149 other golfers. The cut at the end of the second round saw that reduced to 72. He was +4 after an opening round of 74, putting him five off the top, which remained the case after a round of 76 on the second day. The Saturday morning saw an improvement, with his par 70 leaving him on +10 but moving him to just one off the leader. The afternoon saw him score his best round of the week, carding a 66 to put him on a +6 286 for the four rounds, which was enough for the win.
Open Championship Wins: 1
The expensive of travelling to Europe meant that American players struggled to take part in as many Open Championships as many of them would like, but Gene Sarazen still made plenty of appearances over the years. His first came in 1924 when he ended up tied-41st, then four years later he came second. In 1929 he was tied-eighth, coming tied-third two years after that before winning it the following year. Although he came tied-third again in 1933 and tied-fifth in 1936, he never again troubled the top of the leaderboard. He continued taking part in it when he could, missing the cut in 1973 and withdrawing in his final appearance in 1976.
1932 – Wire-to-Wire Victory at Prince’s Golf Club
The 1932 Open Championship was played at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich, with 110 players taking part before being reduced to 64 after the cut. It was a tournament that entered the record books for two reasons, firstly thanks to Sarazen’s claim that he invented the modern version of the sand wedge and used it for the first time. He also set an Open Championship record total of 283, leading wire-to-wire thanks to a 70 in the first round, a 69 in the second and a 70 in the third. When he carded a 74 on the final day it was enough to win by five shots. A few weeks later he joined Bobby Jones as being just the second player to win the Open and US Open in the same season.