Italian Americans in the World of Golf

Millions of golf fans across the globe watched golfer Phil Mickelson drill an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to become the 2004 Masters Champion, but very few of them knew that he is part Italian. The current fourth-ranked golfer in the world, Mickelson is of Italian descent on his mother's side. His nickname while playing on the Arizona State golf team was "The Roman." Long considered the best golfer never to win a major championship, Mickelson removed that monkey from his back with his Masters Championship. In his first 15 tournaments of 2004, he led the PGA tour with 11 top-ten finishes, and has two second-place and two third-place finishes to go along with two tournament wins.

Mickelson isn't the only Italian American golfer on the PGA Tour this year. Chris DiMarco and Fred Couples are currently ranked (as of August 2004) in the top 25, and Rocco Mediate and Mark Calcavecchia are both ranked in the top 125 golfers in the world.

The title of greatest Italian-American golfer of all time still belongs to Gene Sarazen, and today's golfers have quite the act to follow. Gene Sarazen was born Eugenio Saraceni in Harrison, New York in 1902 to immigrant parents. At the age of eight he began to caddy and quickly learned the complexities and etiquette of the game, becoming fully absorbed in it even to the extent of anglicizing his name in order to gain acceptance at a time when there were virtually no Italian-American players.

Sarazen will long be remembered as one of golf's greatest players. Like the sand wedge he is credited with inventing, Sarazen, known as "The Squire," had a lasting impact on the game of golf. In 1922, at age 20, he won the U. S. Open -- the youngest ever to win that event. Winner of 38 PGA Tour titles, including seven major championships, he was the first to achieve a career grand slam of golf's four major championships: the U.S. National Open in 1922 and 1923, the Professional Golf Championship in 1922, 1923, and 1933, the British Open in 1932, and the Masters in 1935. His double-eagle on the 15th hole of the 1935 Masters was a truly remarkable feat that golf fans are still talking about decades later. He was a member of six Ryder Cup teams and is in the PGA Hall of Fame, the World Golf Hall of Fame, and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.

While the Italian-American influence in sports such as boxing and baseball has long been celebrated, Italian Americans have had an impact on the sport of golf as well. Other Italian American golfers include championship winners Johnny Revolta, Vic Ghezzi, Donna Caponi, Tony Manero, Doug Ford, Harry Pezzullo, and 14-time winner Ken Venturi. Of course, golf fans also remember the legendary Turnesa brothers, who were to golf what the Kennedy's were to politics. All seven brothers -- Phil, Frank, Joe, Mike, Doug, Jim and Willie -- were professional golfers. They won dozens of Tour events and made Walker Cup and Ryder Cup teams, and even had a movie made about them entitled "The Golfing Brothers."

Article copyright The National Italian American Foundation.

Photograph (Gene Sarazen)