Golf Central

On this day in 1996, Jim Colbert eased his way to victory in the Raley’s Gold Rush Classic, five strokes ahead of second placed Dave Stockton.

The tournament was a fixture on the PGA Champions Tour until 2001, with Colbert’s 1996 win accounting for one of his twenty Champion's Tour successes, which include a major in the form of The Senior Players Championship.

Colbert, born in New Jersey in 1941, also experienced a number of wins on the PGA Tour. He claimed eight victories in total, with his most successful year coming in 1983 as he racked up two victories and reached 15th place on the PGA money list.

The man from the Garden State has his fingers in many pies; with ownership of a golf course management company, a position as an analyst on American TV network ESPN and he also helped to design his own course in Manhattan, the aptly named Colbert Hills.

Also on this day, in 1973, the world famous Sydney Opera House was declared open by Queen Elizabeth II. One of the most beautiful sights down under has wowed crowds in Australia for the past three decades, as has pop singer Dannii Minogue who celebrates her 36th birthday today.

And it’s Jomo Kenyatta! as they say in Gatundu, to Welsh female golfing extraordinaire Becky Brewerton (b.1982), X Factor judge Dannii Minogue (b.1971), iconic rapper from the West Coast who always carries an umbrella ‘for drizzle’, Snoop Dogg (b.1971) and moustache sporting Liverpool legend Ian Rush (b.1961).