Golf Central

On this day in 1902, the great Gene Sarazen was born in Harrison, New York, and the little Italian-American (birth name Eugenio Saraceni), a self-taught former caddie, went on to become the first man to win the career Grand Slam of majors.

Standing only 5-foot-5 and with am unusual interlocking grip, Sarazen won 41 tournaments, including seven majors, before retiring to be a sharply-dressed gentleman farmer and a television golf announcer in his 60s. He is credited for inventing the sand wedge, and lived to a grand old age of 97, remaining one of only five men to have won all four of the modern majors: the others are Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods ...

On this day in 1978, Jack Nicklaus defended his Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic title in stunning fashion, making birdies on each of the last five holes to defeat the shocked Grier Jones. (The tournament still remains, although most of us know it now as the Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach, Florida).

The title was one of 73 PGA Tour wins for the Golden Bear, who now has to sit and watch in near-stunned silence as Tiger Woods chases down his records in similar style. As for Grier Jones, he ended up with a serviceable three PGA Tour wins and finished fourth on the 1972 money list. He retired from tour golf in '83, Jones dedicated his life to teaching the game: His college teams at Wichita State University have reached the US NCAA championships twice since 1995 ...

On this day in 1935, the legendary Walter Hagen, who first brought showmanship and style to professional golf, won the Gasparilla Open by one stroke, beating Clarence Clark. It was the be the last individual title of Hagen's storied career at the age of 42.

Typically, Hagen finished off his opponent with a flourish, just like he had done most things throughout his life. Smart-dressing and free-spending, Hagen won 45 times on the fledgling PGA Tour, and it's fitting that his last win came in the party atmosphere of the Gasparilla, which coincides with Tampa Bay, Florida's Mardi Gras-like festival. Of course, Hagen finished with a pair of birdies, including a 45-foot bomb on the last, to seal the win ...

Get your notebooks and quotebooks ready, folks, because word says that Fred Couples will be the captain of the US team for the 2009 Presidents Cup in San Francisco, California.

Freddie - the loveable bungler of the English language and one of golf's most popular players, among his peers, the press and fans - would ostensibly be getting a trial run before possibly being handed the reins of the American Ryder Cup squad in 2010 or 2012. Couples has been a member of four Presidents Cup teams with a 3-0-1 singles record.

Journalists will be licking their chops at the prospect of five straight days of interview sessions with Couples, who is as likely to innocently turn a phrase on its head as he was likely to turn loose an effortless 300-drive in his playing prime.

Golf World is reporting that Couples will take over for Jack Nicklaus, who has captained the last three US Presidents Cup teams, in the 2009 edition at San Francisco's municipal-course jewel, Harding Park Golf Course. An official announcement is expected Tuesday.

And we want the phone number for Couples' conference call, at which he is likely to say: "You can't replace a guy like Jack Nicklaus. He's a legend and he played in a different time. And you can't replace a guy who played in a different time, unless you know how to travel in time, and I'm just a golfer, man." ... Or something like that.

OK, we're beating a dead horse here. We know you're really upset about not being able to spend your Sunday watching Rod Pampling and Shingo Katayama battle it out in what would have been a gripping contest. But that's what they say about these "fickle" match-play tournaments: you're never guaranteed to get what you want. And yes, we were just kidding ...