On this date in 1942, Ben Hogan was named the winner of the Vardon Trophy for the third straight time; he finished ahead of his fellow triumvirate players, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead. And five-time Open Championship winner James Braid, part of the Great Triumvirate before the American triumvirate with Harry Vardon and J.H. Taylor, died on this date in 1950 at age 80 in London. The Scot won the Open in 1901, 1905-06, 1908 and 1910.

On this date in 1920, it is credited as the day the U.S. Golf Association officially formed its Green Section, the division in the USGA that handles its policy on greenkeeping and course care regarding turfgrass. And one of the grand Scottish golfers of days gone by was born on this date in 1873. Fred Herd was born in the most special place of all for a golfer, St. Andrews. His claim to fame was winning the 1898 U.S. Open.

On this date in 1973, the ABC Cup ended in Osaka, Japan, in a match between U.S. and Japanese tour pros. One of the main combatants was Arnold Palmer, who finished third with rounds of 75-72-74—221, worth $4,326. Also, one of golf’s most unassuming major champions was born on this date in 1923. Art Wall, Jr., was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Six years older than Arnold Palmer, Wall battled his fellow Pennsylvanian in amateur and college golf and carried on their tussles on the pro tour. It was Wall who took advantage of Palmer’s final-round blowup in the 1959 Masters with a 74 by shooting 66 and winning by a shot over Cary Middlecoff and two over Palmer. But Palmer would get his revenge the following year by winning at Augusta and having Wall put the green jacket on him. Wall was also notable for having said he’d had 40 holes-in-one.

In 1960 on this date, Arnold Palmer shot a 68 in the first round of the Mobile Sertoma Open. He would follow that with 67-74-65 to win the tournament and $2,000. Also, an American golfer who was on the cusp of doing marvelous things in golf was born on this date in 1955. Scott Hoch turns 69 today, born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has 11 PGA Tour victories but was about to win the 1989 Masters and really raise his level but he missed a short but tough putt on the 10th hole in a playoff with Nick Faldo. The Englishman then made birdie on the next hole to win and Hoch never had as good a chance as he did that year to win a major. He did play on the 1997 and 2002 Ryder Cup teams for the U.S.

On this date in 2003, the Presidents Cup finished in a 17-17 tie at the Links at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club. The match stayed a tie and was deemed concluded after Ernie Els and Tiger Woods played three holes of a playoff and remained deadlocked as darkness encroached. On this date in November 2003, the UBS Warburg Cup ended, with the United States and the Rest of the World teams finishing tied with 12 points. The U.S., however, retained the cup as the previous winner. The event had a Ryder Cup feel for senior players; Arnold Palmer captained the U.S., and the ROW team was led by Tony Jacklin.

The 1936 PGA Championship ended on this date with Denny Shute winning his first of two consecutive PGAs. He defeated long-hitting Jimmy Thomson, 3 and 2, at Pinehurst Country Club’s No. 2 Course.. Being outdriven by as much as 60 yards, Shute used his short-game guile and strong iron play to take down Thomson.

On this date in 2004, the UBS Warburg Cup ended, with the U.S. defeating the Rest of the World, 14-10. U.S. captain Arnold Palmer lost his match to Gary Player, ROW captain, 6 and 5.

Golf great Bobby Locke, a four-time Open Championship winner, was born on this date in Germiston, South Africa, in 1917. Full name Arthur D’Arcy, Locke went down in history as one of the greatest putters ever, with a style that curved the ball into the cup. And this date was a sad family event for the Arnold Palmer family in 1999. His wife, Winnie, died from a malignant tumor in the abdomen lining. Just over a week after winning the U.S. Amateur in 1954, Palmer had a chance encounter with Winifred (Winnie) Walzer on Monday, September 6, at the Shawnee Inn at the Bill Waite Memorial Tournament in the Pocono Mountains. Arnold asked her to marry him at dinner on Friday, which would have been his 25th birthday. They were married on Monday, Dec. 20, 1954, in Virginia. She died in Latrobe, age 65, and a private memorial service was held two days later at Unity Chapel near Latrobe.

It is usually credited that on this date in 1936, the USGA made its decision to limit the amount of clubs that can be carried to 14. Previously to this limit, some players had sets of 20 or more clubs, an unwieldy amount that it was thought didn’t put everyone on the same level playing field.

On this day in 1990, the first Solheim Cup concluded at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, with the United States beating Europe, 11½-4½. The U.S. captain was Kathy Whitworth and Mickey Walker was the Europe leader. Beth Daniel went 3-0 for the Americans.

The 1883 Open Championship, the 24th Open, was played at Musselburgh Links and ended on this date with Willie Fernie edging defending champion Bob Ferguson, 158-159, in a 36-hole playoff.

On this date in 1894, Wee Bobby Cruickshank was born in Scotland. He lost the 1923 U.S. Open to Bobby Jones in a playoff, but was a good enough player to be elected to the PGA Hall of Fame. In service during World War I he had been a POW. And let’s have a Masters pause on this day to focus on four-time winner Arnold Palmer: At the 68th Masters, on April 8-11, 2004, Arnie played his final Masters tournament. It would make another good Palmer book to do his career in the Masters only. The final playing chapter would be this tournament, his 50th straight and final time as a competitor. It seemed much earlier that he had been talking about calling it quits at Augusta, but he may have had 50 in mind all along, a number he reached at age 74. It wasn’t known at the time, but this was his final event on the regular PGA Tour schedule too. He left with a pair of rounds in the 80s: 84-84—168, missing the 36-hole cut by 20 strokes.

On this date in 1964, Kathy Whitworth won the San Antonio Civitan Open at Pecan Valley Country Club by three shots over Marlene Hagge. A week earlier on November 8, Mickey Wright had shot a 62 in winning the Tall City Open, Midland, Texas.

On this date in 1888, the St. Andrews Golf Club, in Yonkers, New York, is believed to have opened, making it likely the first golf club in America. It had just six holes.

On this date in 1977, Silvia Bertolaccini won the LPGA Colgate Far East Golf Open in Singapore, by one shot over Kathy Whitworth, Pat Bradley and Donna Caponi.

On this date in 1967, Margie Masters won the LPGA Quality Chekd Golf Classic at Lake Waco golf course, by one shot over the dynamic group of Carol Mann, Kathy Whitworth, and Mickey Wright.

The 1889 Open Championship, the 29th playing, finished on this date when Willie Park, Jr., defeated Andrew Kirkaldy, 158-163, in a playoff. The two had tied at 155, at Musselburgh Links, necessitating the playoff.

On this date in 1991, Liselotte Neumann won the LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic at Seta Golf Club in Tokyo at five-under-par 211.

One of the most talented golfers of all-time, Tom Weiskopf, was born on this date in 1942 in Massillon, Ohio. Weiskopf’s most well-known victory was the 1973 Open Championship; he was a four-time runner-up in the Masters. He died August 20, 2022.

Chandler Harper had one of the greatest names for a pro golfer. The winner of the 1950 PGA Championship, the Virginia native lived to age 90, dying on this date in 2004. On this date in 1981, Patty Sheehan won the LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic in Tokyo with a nine-under total, four ahead of Beth Daniel.