Golf Central

You wouldn’t think it possible to make a connection between Sam Snead, Cilla Black, Wild Bill Hickok, Oscar Wilde and the sinking of the Bismarck – but we’ve surprised even ourselves and managed it.
Snead was mentioned only a few days ago, but he was such a great, and quotable, player that he deserves another outing on this, the anniversary of his birth in 1912. And for the record, we once played golf with a journalist lucky to have played with Sam and he asked the great man: ‘When you were on the 18th and absolutely had to nail a drive, what did you think about?’
Sam replied: ‘Pussy’.

Some more Sam Snead quotes:
"These greens are harder than a whore’s heart".
"If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they’d starve to death."
"Practice puts brains in your muscles."
"The three things I fear most in golf are lightning, Ben Hogan and a downhill putt."

Meanhwile, in the real world Jawaharlal Nehru, founder of modern India, died suddenly at the age of 74 on this day in 1964.
In 1970, Liz Earley, an LPGA golfer was born in Ontario. And despite winning the 1995 Thailand Open, has no biographical entry on either the LPGA or Wikipedia websites. Not everyone can be a Major winner you know.

The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by British naval and air forces on this day in 1941 but of course, the Americans later made a film about it in which all the credit went to them. In 1153 Malcolm IV was crowned King of Scotland – but he didn’t play golf because his countrymen hadn’t invented it yet. In 1837 ‘Wild’ Bill Hickock was born – hooray! But he killed all the buffalo – Boo!

The Fuzhou Chinese, who are known to be a little excitable, shout ‘San Ni Kuai Lo!’ but we British whisper ‘Happy Birthday’ to:
Paul Gascoigne (41), wayward genius
Priscilla White (Cilla Black 65), TV matchmaker
Denise Van Outen (34), acting eye candy
Duncan Goodhew (53), slaphead swimmer

It would also have been Vincent Price's 97th birthday had he not joined the celestial Hammer Horror film in 1993.