Golf Central

On this day in 1990, Greg Norman, more known for his final-round collapses than his successes, put together one of the great finishes in recent PGA Tour history with his blinding 62 at the Doral-Ryder Open in Florida.

The Great White Shark, then in his prime at age 35, started the round seven shots behind, fired a blistering 10-under par round to force a four-way playoff with Paul Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia and Tim Simpson. Then Norman finished it off by winning the first extra hole with a chip-in for eagle ... Wow. Pity the Shark couldn't do those sorts of things in the majors ...

And on this day in 1954, goofy genius Peter Jacobsen was born in Portland, Oregon. One of the most affable PGA Tour players in his prime for his comic hi-jinks, Jacobsen was also a darn good player: He won six tour titles, including Pebble Beach in back-to-back years. He was also the founder of the "band" of golfers Jake Trout and the Flounders with Payne Stewart and Mark Lye, releasing a jokey album of golf songs called I Love To Play in 1998, featuring the track Love The One You Whiff ...

Today is also the 58th birthday for Judy Dickinson, a four-time LPGA Tour winner and president of the LPGA from 1990-92 ...

In the real world: On this day in 1933, the movie serial of the long-running cowboy radio drama The Lone Ranger was first released. The radio show and films spun off into a comic strip, pulp novels and the iconic TV show starring Clayton Moore. Hi-ho Silver, away! ...

Strangely enough: On this day in 1951, in Cuba, Ernest Hemingway got around to finishing the last page of his 100-page novella The Old Man and the Sea ... then wrote his publisher the same day with the draft, saying it was the "best writing he had ever done". You know, Papa was right: the tragic novella captured the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 ...

In sport: On this day in 1995, Manchester United crushed Ipswich Town 9-0, recording the most lopsided win in Premiership football history, as striker Andy "Scores Goals" Cole hit the back of the net five times ...

So it's parabens!, as they say Oporto, to smooth-singin' R&B legend Bobby Womack (64), immortalised in the recent Pearlfishers' ode Womack & Womack; to bass player Chris Squire (60) of the overblown English prog-rockers Yes; to naff Welsh pop phenomena Shakin' Stevens (Michael Barratt, 60); to gravel-voiced English singing star Chris Rea (57) of Driving Home for Christmas infamy; to chick-magnet Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando (41); and to attacking midfielder Landon Donovan (26) of the LA Galaxy and the US national team.

It also would have been a birthday for Henry The Navigator (b. 1394) of Portugal, who had a really cool moniker (wouldn't it be cool to be called, say, Iestyn The Navigator?) and who sponsored many of the critical explorations of the New World, had he not taken the ultimate voyage in 1460 ... 'Til tomorrow! ...