The U.S. Open’s top 10 players for peak performance
By Bill Felber
8. Gene Sarazen, -1.48 peak (1923-1932)
Sarazen won two Opens – in 1922 and 1932 – but since they came 11 years apart only one can fit within a 10-year peak window.
It happens that Sarazen’s stronger peak was between 1923 and 1932, a decade during which he seven times finished among the top 10, and only once was outside the top 20.
Already an Open champ and a multiple Major winner thanks to his victories in the 1922 and 1923 PGA, Sarazen scored four top 5s in a five-year period between 1925 and 1929. He tied for third behind Bobby Jones in 1926, was third again to Tommy Armour in 1927 and tied for third a third time – and a second time behind Jones — in 1929.
His biggest moment came at New York City’s Fresh Meadow in 1932, where Sarazen had formerly been the club pro. He came to the event hot, having won the British Open a few weeks earlier. Five behind Philip Perkins midway through the Saturday morning round, he went on the attack. A final round 66 buried Perkins and Bobby Cruickshank by three strokes, giving Sarazen the win with a score that was 2.72 standard deviations better than the field.
Statistically, it was the most dominant U.S. Open performance since Alex Smith had won at 2.73 standard deviations better than the field average way back in 1906.