Wisconsin Winners
Gene Sarazen and Vijay Singh traveled divergent routes in different eras to secure PGA Championship victories in 1933, 2004
By Roger Graves
The diminutive, 5-foot- 5, 145-pound Sarazen was born to Italian immigrants in Harrison, N. Y., in 1902. The Squire, whose double-eagle 2 at the 15th hole at Augusta National Golf Club remains one of the most famous single shots in golf history and elevated Sarazen to his seventh and final major championship at the 1935 Masters, collected 31 victories during his heyday in the 1920s and 1930s. But Sarazen made less than 1 million in official purses during his storied career.
In contrast, the 6-foot- 2 Singh hails from Lautoka, Fiji, has more than 60 worldwide victories in his portfolio, and has banked more than 60 million in official PGA Tour earnings. Singh authored one of the gaudiest seasons in golf history in 2004, when he won nine times and cashed
AT fiRST BLUSH, WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAMERS GENE SARAZEN and Vijay Singh might seem diametrically different figures in golf history. Certainly their careers represent dramati- cally different eras in golf, considering Sarazen was 90
when Singh made his initial four starts on the PGA Tour in 1992.
Tour while ascending to No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.
But upon closer examination, Sarazen and Singh have much in common – including becoming the only two golfers to win PGA Championships in Wisconsin.
Although separated by seven decades, Sarazen and Singh both fell for golf at a young age. Both built an unusual penchant for practice and became tireless tinkerers with golf equipment. Sarazen is credited with creating what today is the sand wedge. Singh has utilized and helped develop a battery of swing and putter-training devices. Sarazen dropped out of school in the 6th grade and turned professional at 19. Singh dropped out of school at 16 and turned professional at 19, serving as a club professional in Borneo before embarking on a career that has seen him compete on virtually every golf tour in the world.
1933
Dates: Aug. 8–13
Champion: Gene Sarazen
Score: 5 and 4
Runner-up: Willie Goggin
Site: Blue Mound Country Club, Wauwatosa
Field: 32
Purse: $7,200
Note: Earlier that week, Tommy Armour proclaimed Sarazen was “all washed up as a championship contender.”
2004
Dates: Aug. 12–15
Champion: Vijay Singh
Score: 280
Runners-up: Chris DiMarco, Justin Leonard
Site: Whistling Straits, Kohler
Field: 156
Purse: $6.25 million
Note: Singh defeated DiMarco and Leonard in a three-hole, cumulative score playoff.
PGA Championships played in Wisconsin
Different Victory Routes Sarazen won the 1933 PGA Championship at Blue Mound Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wis., by enduring a 36-hole medal qualifying (or seeding) round and by winning five 36-hole matches. The Squire bested Willie Goggin, 5 and 4, in the final match to imprint his name on the coveted Wanamaker Trophy for a third time, earning 1,000 for his victory on Aug. 13, 1933.
132 THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE 2010 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP