50th Anniversary : Sarazen Says Too Much Made of His Double Eagle

Gene Sarazen thinks too much is being made of the fact that this is the 50th anniversary of his Masters’ double eagle.

For those of you who weren’t at the 15th hole of the Augusta National in the fourth round of the 1935 Masters:

Sarazen, one of a small handful who have won all four of the major professional tournaments -- Masters, U.S. and British Opens and PGA Championship -- trailed Craig Wood by three strokes with four holes to play. He caught up with one swing -- sinking a 220-yard four-wood shot on the par-five, 485-yard 15th for a double-eagle 2.

Sarazen, playing the next three holes in par, tied Wood at 6-under 282 for the regulation 72 holes; then went out the next day and beat Wood by five strokes, 144-149, in a 36-hole playoff.

“Much too much has been made of that double eagle,” says Sarazen, now 83 and limited to playing nine holes along with 72-year-old Sam Snead as honorary Masters starters. “That was just a lucky shot although I’m glad it gave me a chance to get into that playoff and win the Masters.

“Of course, that was just the second year of the Masters and it wasn’t considered as big a deal then as it is now,” Sarazen said. “It wasn’t even known as the Masters back then.”

Sarazen, decked out in the knickers which became his trademark back in the ‘20s when he was recognized as one of the top golfers in the world, spent Monday greeting old friends on the clubhouse lawn.

He planned to get in 18 holes of golf Tuesday with some friends at a nearby course.

As for the Masters, which begins Thursday, Sarazen said, “I’ll play nine holes and then I’ll be off to Marco Island (Florida) to see my wife who hasn’t been feeling well of late.

Last time Sarazen was a serious threat in the Masters was in 1939 when he tied for fifth, only three shots off the winning pace. But he was still able to finish in a tie for 10th as late as 1950, when he was 48, and he made the cut at age 60.

Sarazen achieved international recognition when he was only 20, winning both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in 1922. He also was a double winner 10 years later -- winning his second U.S. Open and his only British Open in 1932.

Sarazen says people have never let him forget that double eagle which led to the last of his seven major championships.

“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” he said with a grin. “Too many people keep reminding me of it.”

Sarazen, playing with George Fazio, made it around the Augusta National course in an hour, 57 minutes in 1947 -- a record that stood until George Bayer and Jack Fleck made it in seven minutes less.

“We’d still have the record if Fazio hadn’t taken so much time trying to find out if one of his shots had gone into the water,” Sarazen said.

“They all take a lot more time nowadays than we did because there is so much money at stake. What was that (Calvin) Peete won in the Tournament Players Championship, $162,000? I didn’t win that much in my entire career.

“When you are playing for the kind of money they play these days, you are going to take a lot more time over every shot. There’s too much a stake to do otherwise.”

Sarazen said golf has changed considerably since his heyday.

“The courses are so much longer and there’s a lot more water,” he said. “The shot selections are entirely different. There used to be a lot more emphasis on strategy. Now, a lot of these big, young golfers just blaze away.”