Double Eagles Endangered Species

In his later years, Gene Sarazen tired of talking about the double eagle he made in the final round to help him win the 1935 Masters. He took much more pride in having won the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year, 1932, and in the other accomplishments of a long career.

He invented the sand wedge, was the first of only four players to win all four majors, and all anyone wanted to talk about was one lucky shot?

But difficult shots under the pressure of tournament play are what the public remembers. And there’s good reason Sarazen’s shot became known as “the shot heard ‘round the world.” A double eagle, three under par, is the rarest of golf rarities. Making one late in the final round of a major championship to get into a playoff only added to the mystique.

How difficult is it to make a double eagle? In the last 10 years on the PGA Tour, there have been more than 10 times as many holes in one as there have been double eagles. A breakdown:

THE RARE DOUBLE EAGLES

Players who recorded double eagles in the last 10 years compared to how many recorded holes in one:

*--*

Year Aces Players With Double Eagles 1998 27 Woody Austin 1997 31 David Duval, Peter Teravainen 1996 39 Guy Hill 1995 35 Per-Ulrik Johansson, J.L. Lewis 1994 44 Olin Browne, Jeff Maggert, Mike Donald 1993 25 Massy Kuramoto, Tom Sieckmann, Bobby Wadkins, Darrell Kestner 1992 33 Mark O’Meara, Billy Andrade 1991 29 Payne Stewart, Mark Brooks, Lon Hinkle, John Daly, Davis Love III 1990 34 Tom Pernice, Gary Koch, Steve Pate, Pate, Jim Gallagher Jr., Greg Bruckner 1989 32 Bill Britton

*--*