Gene Sarazen.

Gene Sarazen. Gene Sarazen (1902-1999), American professional golfer, also known as the Squire, who is considered one of the preeminent professional golfers of the 1920s and 1930s. Born Eugene Saraceni in Harrison, New York, he started playing golf at an early age. In 1922 Sarazen won the United States Open and the United States Professional Golfers Association (USPGA) championship, becoming the first golfer to capture the two titles in the same year. He repeated as USPGA champion in 1923, garnering his third significant tournament victory by the age of 21. Competing primarily in exhibitions throughout the remainder of the 1920s, Sarazen did not win another major tournament until his victory in the 1932 U.S. Open. That same year he also won the British Open championship. Sarazen won his third USPGA title in 1933, and after his 1935 victory at the Masters he became the first golfer to win all of the four major tournaments at the time (British Open, Masters, U.S. Open, and USPGA). Sarazen's 1935 victory at the Masters included one of the most famous shots in golf history. He scored a double eagle (three strokes under par) on the 15th hole, directing the shot over a water hazard, which enabled him to tie for the lead. Sarazen won the subsequent playoff to capture the title. Sarazen was a member of six consecutive Ryder Cup teams (biennially from 1927 to 1937). Elected to the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Hall of Fame in 1941, Sarazen won the USPGA Senior championship in 1954 and 1958. He is credited with designing the first sand iron (also called a sand wedge), a golf club with an angled head for playing shots out of sand traps. Sarazen was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.