Senior Classic: Players: Sarazen was ambassador to game

Gene Sarazen was remembered not only as a great golfer, but as an equally outstanding ambassador for the game of golf by many of the players competing in the Las Vegas Senior Classic.

Sarazen died Thursday morning in Naples, Fla., at the age of 97. It didn't take long for the news to reach the members of the Senior PGA Tour playing at the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin, where the flags in front of the clubhouse were lowered to half-staff in honor of Sarazen.

"Gene was the type of person that when you talk about a true golfer and ambassador of the sport, you talk about Gene Sarazen," Dave Stockton said after completing his round Thursday.

"I was sorry to hear of his passing. He was a gentleman that took something from the game but then gave it tenfold back. We've lost one of our good ambassadors."

Miller Barber echoed Stockton's sentiments.

"I knew Mr. Sarazen and he was a fine gentleman," Barber said. "The game has lost one of its true ambassadors. He was a person who always had a kind word for you and he's going to be dearly missed."

Many remember Sarazen for his rare double-eagle 2 on the par-5 15th hole during the second Masters, in 1935. Not only did Sarazen accomplish the rarest feat in golf by holing a 4-wood from 235 yards, it propelled him to an eventual playoff victory.

"Of course, he obviously had the famous double-eagle there at 15 at Augusta, which probably ranks as one of the greatest shots of all time," Stockton said. "Most people can't make a hole in one and most of them surely haven't made double-eagle and not only did he make it at Augusta, but it meant something."

Sarazen won 38 PGA Tour titles and seven major championships. He is one of only four players to win all four of golf's major championships.

Like Stockton, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem praised Sarazen for his contributions to the game -- both on and off the course.

"The game has lost one of its great heroes," Finchem said in a prepared statement. "Gene Sarazen dedicated his life to golf and became one of the game's legendary figures.

"When the PGA Tour inaugurated its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, Gene was an obvious choice as its first recipient. In addition to being a Hall of Fame player, he was a wonderful ambassador of the game throughout his life."

Even those who didn't know Sarazen personally seemed genuinely touched when they learned of his death.

"I didn't know him well," Charles Coody said. "The only time I saw Gene was at the champions' dinner at Augusta each year. He had long left the tour by the time I ever started but I knew him by reputation and he seemed like a very nice fellow.

"The world has lost a legend of golf."

A burial Mass will be celebrated for Sarazen Monday morning in Marco Island, Fla.

* OOPS: Bruce Fleisher, a three-time winner this season and the Senior PGA Tour's leading money winner, was disqualified Thursday for signing an incorrect scorecard.

According to a Senior PGA Tour official, Fleisher hit a ball into a hazard on the 18th hole at the TPC at The Canyons, took an "improper drop," and failed to take the required two-stroke penalty.

Fleisher had left the course after signing for a 1-under-par 70 at the TPC at The Canyons and was unavailable for comment.

* DOUGLASS WITHDRAWS: Dale Douglass withdrew from his second tournament in as many weeks Thursday, pulling out of the Las Vegas Senior Classic because of a sore left wrist.

Douglass, who pulled out of last weekend's Nationwide Championship after two rounds when the tendinitis in his wrist flared up, was replaced in the field by Bobby Stroble.

* TOUGH HOLE: The 202-yard par-3 16th hole at the TPC at The Canyons proved to be that course's toughest hole in Thursday's opening round. The average score for the professionals on that hole was 3.5. There were 16 bogeys and only one birdie recorded on the hole.

At the TPC at Summerlin, the 196-yard par-3 17th hole was the most difficult with an average score of 3.41. There were 14 bogeys, three double bogeys and only four birdies recorded on the water-guarded No. 17.

* NICE SHOT: Amateur player Bob Bruce recorded a hole in one Thursday on the 122-yard 14th hole at the TPC at Summerlin. Bruce, who was playing with professional Bob Murphy, used a 9-iron.

* CHIP SHOTS: Despite his disastrous finish, Hale Irwin has posted 10 consecutive rounds of par or better on the Senior PGA Tour. ... Amateurs Jeff Meyer, Steve Braccini and Joseph Basch shared the pro-am lead at 18 under par after one round. ... Bob Duval had the longest recorded drive of the first round (322 yards) among the 78 professionals. ... Isao Aoki and Frank Conner were the only two players to post bogey-free rounds Thursday. ... Of the 21 sub-par rounds posted Thursday, only six came at the TPC at The Canyons. ... Lee Elder struggled to a 19-over-par 90 at the TPC at The Canyons, the highest round of the day by a professional.

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