Golf Central

Today’s the day that in 1951 the world welcomed the arrival of two-time PGA Tour title winner Mac O’Grady, although he wasn’t a two-time PGA Tour title winner when he was born, obviously. Mind you, he wasn’t called Mac O’Grady either. He was called Phil McGleno and changed his name when he was older, first to Phillip McClelland O’Grady and then to Mac O’Grady. Whatever he was called, he was quite handy at golf. In fact, he was so good that he could even play golf to scratch standard left-handed. He is right-handed, by the way.

Elsewhere it’s a grim day today in 1986 as the worst ever nuclear power plant accident happened in the USSR, when reactor four at the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded, sending plumes of radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. Fifty-six people died directly, with an estimated further 5,000 deaths from cancer as a resulted of the disaster.

Happier times though in South Africa in 1994, where the first all-race national elections began, and in Britain in 1957, where the British public were treated to the first transmission of The Sky At Night with Patrick Moore. In 1928, Madame Tussaud’s Waxwork’s museum opened in London, though quite how it has lasted so long is beyond us. Who the hell wants to look at wax models of celebrities? London was also the scene for the premiere of the film Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif.

And we say Mi fresteri ju! as they say in Surinam to Miss Dynamite-hee-hee (27), the legendary David Coleman (62), English thesp Warren Clarke (61) and American ‘comedian’ Kevin James (43).