Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer of all time, was born on this date in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio. At 80, the Golden Bear is still actively involved in many business interests and in his vast family activities.
The 1957 PGA Championship winner, Lionel Hebert, was born on this date in 1928 in Lafayette, Louisiana. His older brother, Jay, won the PGA in 1960.
On this date in 1991, British golfer Tommy Fleetwood was born in Southport, England. Fleetwood has been coming into his own; his top major finish was runner-up at the 2018 U.S. Open.
On this date in 1959, Arnold Palmer closed out the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am with a 73 to tie for eighth. He had a pattern of hot-cold-hot-cold for four rounds: 69-77-67-73—286. That was not good enough to be in the battle with winner Art Wall (winning score 279), Arnold’s fellow Pennsylvanian and longtime rival.
A couple of firsts occurred on this date. In 1937, Patty Berg won the inaugural LPGA Titleholders Championship at Augusta Country Club by three shots, and in 1916, Rodman Wanamaker organized a lunch meeting in New York City to discuss the formation of what became the PGA.
American pro golfer Jimmy Walker was born on this date in 1979 in Oklahoma City. The 2016 PGA Championship winner at Baltusrol, the six-time tour winner is off from his best game but is always shooting for the stars. He is an astronomy buff and has a hobby of photographing the cosmos.
One of golf history’s most surprising major winners, Y.E. Yang (Yang Yong-eun) of South Korea, was born on this date in 1972. He overcame the pressure of Tiger Woods breathing down his neck to win the 2009 PGA at Hazeltine.
One of the PGA Tour’s most notable journeymen golfers in its history was born on this date in 1941 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Although Gibby Gilbert won three times on tour, his frumpy, everyman appearance, common Amana hat and nickname (real name is C.L. Gilbert Jr., just initials), was a high-handicapper’s delight. Plus, Gilbert always seemed to be lingering in contention. His most notable major was finishing second in the 1980 Masters behind Seve Ballesteros.
World Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara was born on this date in 1957 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. O’Meara had a special year in 1998 when he won both the Masters and Open Championship. He also won the 1979 U.S. Amateur.
On this date in 1997, Tiger Woods won the Mercedes Championships, his third PGA Tour victory, in a playoff with Tom Lehman.
One of the greatest putters of all-time, Ben Crenshaw, was born on this date in 1952 in Austin, Texas. Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984 and 1995 and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
He’s not well-known today among golf fans but Walter Travis was born on this date in 1862 in Australia. He was a jack of all trades, but his playing accomplishments included winning the 1904 British Amateur and the 1900, 1901 and 1903 U.S. Amateur.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 40 years since the Spanish boy wonder, Sergio Garcia, was born on this date in 1980. At one time seen as a surefire major winner, it took until 2017 for Garcia to break through and win a major at the Masters.
On this date in 1962, Jack Nicklaus won his first money as a professional on tour. The Los Angeles Open finished at Rancho Municipal, with Nicklaus in a tie for 50th, earning $33.33, on rounds totaling 289. The winner was Phil Rodgers with 268. Arnold Palmer had 283 for T-18. Whenever Nicklaus would comment on this first PGA event in the following years, he would joke he always wondered where the extra penny went. Because he was one of three players at 50th, with Billy Maxwell and Don Massengale, and they had to share $100 among them, one person got an extra penny. Nicklaus and Massengale each got $33.33; the $33.34 went to Maxwell.
On this date in 1938, the 1975 U.S. Open winner Lou Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1983, Natalie Gulbis was born in Sacramento, California. Perceived as one of the LPGA’s glamour players, she famously broke through after six years as a pro by winning her lone victory, the 2007 Evian Masters.
Three of America’s most accomplished golfers were born on this date. In 1921 it was three-time major winner Cary Middlecoff in Halls, Tennessee; in 1957, Nancy Lopez was born in Torrance, California; she won 48 LPGA Tour titles, and in 1960, Paul Azinger, the 1993 PGA Champion, was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
A major champion in professional golf was born on this date in 1969. Shaun Micheel, winner of the 2003 PGA Championship, was born in Orlando, Florida. He is that rare major winner whose only tour victory was the major.
The 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms, now mainly focused on the Champions Tour, was born on this date in 1967 in Monroe, Louisiana. He won the U.S. Senior Open in 2018.
U.S. golf pro Fred Haas Jr. was born on this date in 1916 in Portland, Arkansas. Haas was a five-time PGA Tour winner but one of his lesser known claims to fame is that he was grouped with Arnold Palmer in Arnie’s second ever PGA Tour event, the 1948 Dapper Dan Invitational at Alcoma Golf Club in Pittsburgh.
Two-time U.S. Amateur champion Marvin (Bud) Ward (in 1939 and 1941) died on this date in 1968 at age 54 after a cancer illness.