This Day in Golf History: January 6

The World Golf Hall of Fame member Cary Middlecoff was born on this date in 1921 in Halls, Tennessee. A Masters and U.S. Open champion, “Doc” was a notorious slow player who tested everyone’s patience, but he was a bright man about the game and was faster in his post-pro career in doing TV work and consulting for Golf Digest. His knowledge was a great asset as a TV commentator and as a GD Instruction Panelist. Middlecoff trained to be a dentist but left his practice to play golf professionally. He won three majors, the 1949 and 1956 U.S. Open and 1955 Masters. At Golf Digest panel meetings, a staffer was assigned the task of keeping Doc well stocked with candy bars.