just keep the ones I had confidence in. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ was my theory. “Well, by the time I finished taking the bad clubs out, I only had seven clubs left. And that was at a time when there was no limit as to how many clubs you could carry. So here were all these golfers carrying 15 or 20 clubs and I only had seven. I didn’t hink much of it because when I started playing, nobody cared about how many clubs you had. They just wanted to know hat you could shoot.” Sarazen sailed through the 36-hole medal-play qualifying to determine match- play seeding with rounds of 68 and 72 on the par- 70 Blue Mound Country Club course, which The Squire reported to be in “excellent condition” despite soft greens. By the time he defeated the 27-year-old Goggin of Salida, Calif., in the final, Sarazen was tired but overjoyed with his performance. As Sarazen received his prize of 1,000 and the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time, he wryly told the audience, “pretty good for a washed-up golfer.”
Gene Sarazen only needed seven clubs to win his third and final PGA Championship in 1933.
contender.” That was a heady proclamation since Sarazen was rewarded with a ticker-tape parade through New York City’s financial district after winning the 1932 U.S. Open and British Open. But a weary Sarazen toured Europe and North America following his banner 1932 season and arrived in Wisconsin struggling.
In fact, Sarazen was playing so poorly that he decided to evaluate every club in his bag and eliminate those clubs he wasn’t hitting well. So, in an age when a 14-club limit did not exist, The Squire tackled the 1933 PGA Championship with only seven clubs in his arsenal.
In Sarazen’s biography entitled “The Squire” by John M. Olman, Sarazen recounts: “Right before I went to Milwaukee to compete in the 1933 PGA, I was playing terrible golf. All of the traveling and excitement from my great year of 1932 was finally taking its toll. I decided to analyze my game and found there were some clubs in my bag that I just couldn’t hit good shots with. So I decided to remove all those clubs from my bag and
134 THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE 2010 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Singh Enters Sunday
with the Lead
The scene was the final round of the
86th PGA Championship, the final
major championship of 2004. For three
dazzling days, Singh had expertly
negotiated the Straits course to the tune of
67, 68 and 69 to enter Sunday’s curtain call
with a one-stroke advantage over Justin
Leonard at 12-under par.
But, suddenly, all the work in the world, all the blood, sweat and tears of 22 years as a professional golfer, all the positive vibes of earning the Masters green jacket in 2000 and winning the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle couldn’t help Singh make a putt.
Through 18 holes in Sunday’s final round of the 2004 PGA Championship, Singh had not made a single birdie.
Here it was, the final major championship of 2004, Glory’s Last Shot, and Singh signed for an inglorious 76 in the closing round. In fact, of the 73 players who survived the 36-hole cut at Whistling Straits, Singh was one of only two competitors (the other was Nick Faldo) who failed to record a single birdie on this decisive Sunday.
Through 54 holes, Singh had played like a prince. But in Round 4, he putted like a pauper, sinking to 8-under par with two
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