Going into the 1922 season, 20-year-old Gene Sarazen (christened Eugenio Saraceni, the son of a New York Italian carpenter) was the archetypal 'unknown'. His anonymity survived only a matter of months. By July he was US Open champion, making a birdie on the 72nd hole for a closing 68 and thereby becoming the first winner to break 70 in the last round. He won by a shot from John Black and the as yet unfulfilled Bobby Jones. The following month he added the US PGA title to his collection, the second of the seven majors he would win.

In 1923, 'the Squire' beat 'the Haig' (Walter Hagen) at the second extra hole to win the US PGA Championship after 36 holes had failed to separate them. But Sarazen's career then went into comparative decline until he enjoyed a marvellous renaissance in 1932 with victory in both Opens. His revival was helped by his 'invention' of the sand wedge, a feat he performed by the simple expedient of soldering extra metal on to his niblick in order to make its sole heavier and broader. Sarazen took a third PGA the next year, and would surely have retained his Open crown had he not taken triple-bogeys at the short 11th and the long 14th hole during that week at St Andrews. 'The Squire' took a total of five shots in Hill and Hell bunkers and lost by a stroke to Denny Shute. Well, no one ever said this new sand wedge was absolutely foolproof.

Although at 5'4" Sarazen was the shortest of any great golfer, his accomplishments were gargantuan. And they have become the stuff of legend. In 1935 he won the second Masters ever held, thus becoming the first player to win all four professional major championships, and he won it with the invaluable assistance of probably the most famous golf shot in history when he holed out a 4-wood approach to Augusta's 15th green in the last round for an albatross, or double-eagle, two (three under on a par-5 hole). " That double-eagle wouldn't have meant a thing if I hadn't won the playoff the next day," said Sarazen. " The aspect I cherish most is that both Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones witnessed the shot." That was the most important single stroke of his life, but not the only memorable one.

At the age of 71, on the 50th anniversary of his first appearance in Britain, Sarazen holed-in-one at the 'Postage Stamp' 8th hole in the 1973 Open Championship at Troon, where in 1923 - as the coming star of American golf- he had failed to qualify for the championship. Half a century after dominating the headlines, Sarazen was still making news.

Gene Sarazen - Perpetrator of legends.

A vertiable pioneer of bunker play, Sarazen is familiar to modern day fans in his role as honorary starter of the Masters.