Golf Central

On this day in 1962, a man with one of the strangest allergies in golf history - and one of the game's most lovely swings - was born in Inverell, NSW, Australia: Steve Elkington.

Likeable regular-guy Elk has carved out a career on the PGA Tour that can be described as "solid," "workmanlike" and "what else might have been" ... Despite being born allergic to grass and dust (which makes a job in golf just that little bit harder) and three bouts with meningitis, and several surgeries, Elkington is still the owner of 10 PGA Tour titles and a single major - the 1995 PGA Championship.

Elkington's swing is a thing of beauty and has long been the envy of his peers on the Tour. There's at least one of those peers who wouldn't have minded that Elk hadn't turned up at the course one day in '95, that being Colin Montgomerie ...

That's because Elkington's title at the 1995 PGA at Riviera was the one of many majors that came at the expense of Monty, who has yet to win one. In a playoff on Riviera's 18th hole, Elkington drained a humpbacked 25-foot birdie putt and watched as Monty's birdie bid slid past from 20 feet. The Australian had the class to send Montgomerie a letter later saying "Hey, it could have been you," which Monty warmly accepted - even if it still hasn't been Monty's turn.

Elkington grew up in the Australian bush town of Wagga Wagga ("not far from Gumly Gumly") and had a 10-hour train trip every weekend for lessons with his golf coach in Sydney as a teenager.

At 45, you'd think Elkington may still have a win or two left in him before he sets off on the Champions circuit. As recently as 2005, Elk was still contending for majors, finishing T2 in the PGA at Baltusrol behind Phil Mickelson.

But whatever happens down the road, golf - despite those blasted allergies - has set the Elk up for life, with nearly $13 million in career earnings in the bank. But the money and fame have never changed Elkington, who is one of the few Tour players you'd really give an arm to have a few beers with, and who would gladly do so. The Elk readily admits "golfers are too boring these days ...", but he's not one of those.

He's full of great stories, like the time he and Greg Norman nearly fought four ice hockey players at a tournament in Portland, who then pursued them in a car chase, chucking full bottles of beer. ... Elkington remains a throwback to the good old days of barnstormers like Jimmy Demaret and Ky Laffoon, and no wonder the American sports radio icon Jim Rome has called Elkington his favourite interviewee ever ... We wish the Elk luck ...

On a very sad note, it was on this day in 1980 that John Lennon was fatally shot outside the Dakota apartments in New York by madman Mark David Chapman, who asked for Lennon's autograph four hours later and then laid and wait to shoot the Beatles legend ...

And in 1941, the United States officially entered the Second World War as, a day after the Pearl Harbour attack, Congress declared war on both Japan and Germany.

And Asian Tour golfer Bryan Saltus was really bummed out today in 1995, when the Grateful Dead announced they were breaking up after 30 years, just four months after the death of their leader, guitarist Jerry Garcia.

That said, it's Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!, as they say in Germany, to Sir Geoff Hurst MBE, who turns 66 today and was johnny-on-the-spot for England in the 1966 World Cup final. Hurst, an England and West Ham legend, remains the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, during England's 4-2 win over Germany at Wembley. ... and to American/British best-selling writer Bill Bryson (56); Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger (54) of Batman and L.A. Confidential fame; and Desperate Housewife and Bond Girl Teri Hatcher (43) ...

Musical birthdays go out today to Irish flutist James Galway (68); ballsy rocker Gregg Allman (60); reggae man Toots Hibbert of Toots (59) and the Maytals; Def Leppard guitarslinger Phil Collen (50), a bald, Irish weird-chick warbler Sinéad O'Connor (41).

On the sporting ends, it's birthdays for Sébastien "The Caveman" Chabal (30), the French rugby internationalist, and great British boxing hope Amir Khan (21).

It also would have been a birthday for Doors frontman Jim Morrison, the Lizard King, had he not done exactly what '60s rock icons are supposed to do and snuffed it of an OD in Paris, France at the age of 27 in 1971 and then have Val Kilmer play him in a so-so Oliver Stone movie.