Horton Smith, winner of the first Masters in 1934 and the third, was born on this date in 1908 in Springfield, Missouri. Smith also served as PGA of America president, 1952-1954, and developed a reputation as a great instructor, writing one of the best putting books “The Secret of Holing Putts!” and contributing articles to Golf Digest.
The first Curtis Cup Match between women amateur teams from the U.S. and Great Britain was held on this date in 1932 at Wentworth Golf Club’s East Course, in Surrey, England. Just a one-day event, the highlight was seeing each side’s star go against the other: Glenna Collett Vare for the U.S. and Joyce Wethered for G.B. The Americans won overall, 5.5 to 3.5, but in the marquee matches, Wethered beat Vare, 6 and 4, in singles, but Vare and partner Opal Hill beat Wethered and Wanda Morgan, 1 up, in Foursomes.
The 37th Open Championship ended on this date in 1897 with English amateur Harold Hilton winning for the second time, by one shot over Scotland’s James Braid, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
Brooks Koepka stumbled home with five bogeys in the last eight holes but still won the 2019 PGA Championship on this date on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, by two shots over Dustin Johnson.
This week the men’s PGA Championship is being played at Kiawah Island. But the women’s LPGA was played in May during its history as well. On this date in 1997, Chris Johnson won over Leta Lindley at DuPont C.C. on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Se Ri Pak, at just 20 years old, was a wire-to-wire winner on this date of the 1998 LPGA Championship at DuPont Country club. She finished three shots in front of Donna Andrews and Lisa Hackney.
On this date in 2019, the first round of the 101st PGA was played on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island with Brooks Koepka shooting a 7-under-par 63 to lead by one shot. The 63 tied the championship record.
Ken Venturi, the miracle man who survived brutal heat in 1964 to win the U.S. Open, and who then went on to have a long career as a TV golf analyst, was born on this date in 1931 in San Francisco.
A pair of major champions died on this date nine years apart. In 2009, 1959 PGA champion Bob Rosburg, also well known for his TV work, died at age 82. In 2018, Doug Ford died at age 95, at the time the oldest former major champion in the world. He won the 1955 PGA and 1957 Masters. As the latter, he had the honor of putting the green jacket on Arnold Palmer for his first of four Masters titles.
Gene Sarazen, who had seen all the great golfers from Harry Vardon to Tiger Woods, died on this date in 1999 at age 97 in Naples, Florida. Sarazen was the first golfer to win the career Grand Slam.
A pair of one-time major champions was born on this date in the same year, 1970, and they won their major in the same year, 2003. Jim Furyk, a U.S. Open winner, was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and has 17 PGA Tour victories. He was also the first tour golfer to shoot a 58, at the 2016 Travelers Championship. Lefthanded Masters Tournament winner Mike Weir has eight tour victories and was born in Sarnia, Ontario.
In 2014, Martin Kaymer of Germany won the Players Championship on the TPC Stadium Course, winning wire to wire by one shot over Jim Furyk.
The 1929 Open Championship ended on this date at Muirfield Golf Links, with Walter Hagen winning for the fourth time. It was his 11th and final major victory. He won by six shots over Johnny Farrell.
On this date in 1870, Harry Vardon, a member of golf history’s Great Triumvirate with James Braid and J.H. Taylor, was born on Jersey of the Channel Islands. His pre-eminent feat was winning the Open Championship six times.
On this date in 1893, American golf legend Francis Ouimet was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, close to The Country Club, where he won a historic playoff with Harry Vardon and Ted Ray for the 1913 U.S. Open Championship.
Seve Ballesteros, the five-time major champion of Spanish golf, died on this date in 2011, losing his battle with brain cancer at age 54.
One year into LPGA Tour history in 1951, Patty Berg won the Pebble Beach Weathervane tournament at Pebble Beach Country Club on this date. She shot 152 in the two-day event to take home the $750 first-place prize, four shots ahead of Babe Zaharias.
It’s rare that a golfer’s claim to fame is his putting stroke, but that is the case with Leo Diegel, who died on this date in 1951. His putting style was known as “Diegeling” in which his elbows pointed outward from each other and the arms swung back and forth like a pendulum. He was effective enough that he won consecutive PGAs in 1928-1929 and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Betsy Rawls, the World Golf Hall of Fame member who won four U.S. Women’s Opens, was born on this date in 1928 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
On this day in 1903, the great entertainer and golf promoter Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington. Mainly noted for his singing and acting, in golf circles Crosby was a fine player whose Crosby Pro-Am Clambake on the Monterey Peninsula popularized the format on the PGA Tour.