Sergio Garcia will head into 2018 and try to build on his Masters victory last year at the age of 38. The Spaniard was born on this date in 1980. And I would be remiss if I, as a Packer fan, did not make note that today is also the birthday of the great Bart Starr, the Packers' iconic quarterback during the Vince Lombardi Era. Starr was born on this date in 1934 in Montgomery, Ala. Go Pack Go.

Dustin Johnson went low yesterday to win the T of C at Kapalua. On this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer went low with a nine-under 62 at Rancho Municipal in Round 3 of the Los Angeles Open, and then won it the next day by three shots over Paul Harney and Miller Barber. Arnie's first-place prize was $11,000.

Lou Graham was born on this date in 1938, putting him at the Big 8-0. The Nashville native was the improbable winner of the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah, a topsy-turvy championship that had Tom Watson looking strong after 36, but had Graham tie John Mahaffey after 72 and winning an 18-hole playoff. Graham had six PGA Tour victories and played on three Ryder Cup teams.

A trio of memorable players was born on this date: 12-time tour winner and 1993 PGA champion Paul Azinger in 1960; Dr. Cary Middlecoff, a three-time major winner, born in 1921, and Nancy Lopez, born in 1957. Lopez won nearly 50 tour events, with three majors. Like Phil Mickelson, she was snakebit in the National Open. She finished runner-up four times.

Ken Venturi had yet to win a major when he won the Los Angeles Open on this date in 1959. He had won six times in two years when L.A. was played in 1959. He shot 63 in the final round to win by two shots over Art Wall.

One of America's finest amateur golfers was born on this date but you might not even be that familiar with him. Marvin (Vinny) Giles III was born Jan. 4, 1943. The 1966 University of Georgia graduate was a three-time All-American there. Giles was second in the U.S. Amateur three times before finally winning in 1972.  He also won the 1975 British Amateur. He was on four Walker Cup teams, was low amateur in the 1968 Masters and 1973 U.S. Open, and won the 2009 U.S. Senior Amateur. He was dominant in his native state of Virginia, winning seven State Amateurs and three Virginia Opens. He went on to run a successful player-agent business.

Tour events this time of year are played on the West Coast. On this date in 1988 and 1993, a couple of journeymen won on the Monterey Peninsula. In 1988, Lennie Clements won the Spalding Invitational Pro-Am in a four-man playoff, and in 1993, Mark Brooks had an easier time of it, winning by five shots over Bob May in the Pebble Beach Invitational. Defending champion Loren Roberts and Duffy Waldorf tied for third.

This week marks the return of the PGA Tour, with the usual first event of January, the Tournament of Champions. But there was a time when the Los Angeles Open led things off. On this date in 1959, for instance, the first round of the L.A. Open was played. It was the fourth time Arnold Palmer had played L.A., and he would win there in 1963. In '59, he shot 72 and would tie for ninth.

Happy New Year. May your golf game be a source of pleasure in 2018. On this date in 1938, the 14-club limit imposed by the Rules of Golf became effective. Up until then, players carried as many as they wanted. Caddies heaved a sigh of relief with their lighter loads.

The stymie rule officially died on this date in 1951. The rule called for balls to be played as they came to rest on the green; you couldn't mark the ball and pick it up. That meant that if a golfer's ball stopped between the hole and another player's ball, that player had "laid a stymie" and the  "stymied" golfer had to putt around the ball or in some instances tried to chip over the ball to hole out. To see an example, there is old newsreel video of Paul Runyan chipping over a stymie successfully on the green in his 1938 PGA Championship victory over Sam Snead.

Today is Tiger Woods' birthday. He was born on this date in 1975, putting him at 42 as he enters 2018 with huge hopes for a healthy golf season, one that might reignite his chase for PGA Tour victory records and Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors.

Celebrated golf course architect Pete Dye observes a birthday on this date. He was born in 1925 in Urbana, Ohio, making him 92. Dye, whose designs were notable for their railroad tie bulkheads, has done dozens of well-known courses, including the TPC Stadium Course in Florida. He has received nearly every award conceivable for his design work and is in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

A pair of golfers with similar records are celebrating birthdays on this date. Hubert Green, the 1977 U.S. Open and 1985 PGA champion, was born in 1946 in Birmingham, Ala., and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. He played in three Ryder Cups. German Martin Kaymer, born in 1984, will likely be in the Hall, too, since he won a PGA (2010), U.S. Open (2014), and has played on four Ryder Cup teams, including making the winning putt in 2012 for Europe. He also won the 2014 Players Championship. 

In my opinion, Dave Marr, the 1965 PGA champion, was part of the finest TV golf broadcast team with Jim McKay on ABC. Marr was born on this date in Houston in 1933. I only met him once, at Shinnecock Hills during the U.S. Open, and I was clumsy company I'm sure. He passed away far too early a couple months shy of turning 64. Also on the birthday list today is Charley Hoffman, born in San Diego in 1976.

One of the most successful "silly season" events, the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, ended on this day in 1993, with the team of Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus and Chi Chi Rodriguez, representing the Champions Tour, coming out on top.

The event on this date is one of the most infamous in golf history. Young Tom Morris, the great Open Championship winner and son of Old Tom, died on Christmas Day in 1875 at just age 24. The four-time Open winner died three months after the death of his wife and newborn child.

Today's anecdotes touch upon a pair of "vintage" figures in golf's history. On this date in 1965, Margaret Curtis died. Born on October 8, 1883, Curtis, along with sister Harriot, were pivotal female players in the early stages of golf in the U.S. They donated the cup that became the top prize for the women's international match called the Curtis Cup. That was after they each were U.S. Women's Amateur champions. Also on this date, in 1861, British amateur great John Ball Jr. was born. Ball won eight Amateur Championships, including in 1890 when he also won the Open Championship. He was 51 when he won his eighth Amateur Championship in 1912.

Herman Barron, born on this date in 1909 in Port Chester, N.Y., was a modestly successful tour pro who ended his career as a club pro at Fenway Golf Club, in Scarsdale, N.Y., after 43 years there. Barron won four times on the PGA Tour, and his 1942 victory at the Western Open is considered the first official PGA Tour victory by a Jewish golfer. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

The U.S. Golf Association was begun, in part, to administer the game's rules and to establish the championships that would determine national winners. On this date in 1894, delegates from five clubs came together in New York City and formed the USGA and elected a president. The following year, the inaugural playings of the U.S. Open and men's and women's Amateur were held.

The great Walter Hagen was born on this date in 1892 in Rochester, N.Y. The Haig was known for his showmanship but he could back it up; he won 11 majors, including five PGA Championships, four of them in a row from 1924-1927. He won two U.S. Opens and four Open Championships. He played in the Masters but never really had a shot at winning one; by the time it started in 1934, Hagen was past 41 and beyond his best playing days.