Class of 2011: The groups before The Group

Class of 2011: The groups before The Group

Weve been grouping things since the beginning, as in The Beginning, when God said this is heaven and this is earth, and youre fish and youre fowl.God probably wasnt concerned with marketing strategies at the time and how #beastsoftheearth would look with a hashtag, but humans have evolved into such thinking (or not evolved, depending on your thinking).We now have all manner of items lumped into the cute, the catchy and the kitschy. Anything that will capture our attention before the next thing quickly wrests said attention away.Modern focus, in a group sense in the golf world, is on the Class of 2011. This isnt an arbitrary assembly of players based on world ranking or current form. Its not a Big Pick A Number.

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Theres an actual tie that binds as it takes a specific distinction to be part of the club. Its a group of 20-somethings who graduated from high school in the aforementioned year, many who have a PGA Tour card, a handful of who have PGA Tour wins, and a couple of who have major titles.Its a deep and talented collective, one for which our knowledge should continue to expand as resumes grow.Do any classes in golf history compare? Well, its not like weve long been lumping successful players together based on when they completed their primary education. But there are other notable groups of players, based primarily on birthdate, relative competition and accomplishment.Heres a few on both the mens and womens side:BORN IN 1912

Birthdate	Player	PGA Tour wins	Major wins
Feb. 4, 1912	Byron Nelson	52	5
May 27, 1912	Sam Snead	82	7
Aug. 13, 1912	Ben Hogan	64	9

Born six months within one another. Only a threesome, but a Hall of Fame trio that combined for 198 PGA Tour wins and 21 majors.

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BORN IN 1949

Birthdate	Player	PGA Tour wins	Major wins
Sept. 4, 1949	Tom Watson	39	8
Dec. 5, 1949	Lanny Wadkins	21	1
Dec. 9, 1949	Tom Kite	19	1

Only 96 days separate these three Hall of Fame players. Extend the reach into March of 1950 and you'll get two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North.

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BORN IN 1955

Birthdate	Player	PGA Tour wins	Major wins
Jan. 30, 1955	Curtis Strange	17	2
Jan. 30, 1955	Payne Stewart	11	3
Feb. 10, 1955	Greg Norman	20	2

Another trio of Hall of Fame players. Strange and Stewart were born on the same day with Norman 11 days later. Fellow PGA Tour winners born in 1955: Scott Simpson, Scott Hoch and Loren Roberts.

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WITHIN A CALENDAR YEAR, 1956-57

Birthdate	Player	LPGA wins	Major wins
Feb. 22, 1956	Amy Alcott	29	5
Oct. 14, 1956	Beth Daniel	33	1
Oct. 27, 1956	Patty Sheehan	35	6
Jan. 6, 1957	Nancy Lopez	48	3

A little arbitrary here, but go with it. Four Hall of Famers on the women's side, all born within one year of each other. That's an average (!) career of 36 tour wins and nearly four majors.

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EUROPE'S BIG 5

Birthdate	Player	Euro (PGA Tour) wins	Major wins
April 9, 1957	Seve Ballesteros	50 (9)	5
July 18, 1957	Nick Faldo	30 (9)	6
Aug. 27, 1957	Bernhard Langer	42 (3)	2
Feb. 9, 1958	Sandy Lyle	18 (6)	2
March 2, 1958	Ian Woosnam	29 (2)	1

The best 'class' of players Europe has to offer. Five born within a year of one another. Five Hall of Fame members. Five who transformed and globalized European golf.

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WITHIN A CALENDAR YEAR, 1969-70

Birthdate	Player	PGA Tour wins	Major wins
Sept. 12, 1969	Angel Cabrera	3	2
Oct. 17, 1969	Ernie Els	19	4
May 12, 1970	Jim Furyk	17	1
May 12, 1970	Mike Weir	8	1
June 16, 1970	Phil Mickelson	42	5

Not a tight-knit group, but a little more global bonding in accordance to the PGA Tour's increased international reach. Add in worldwide wins  in excess of 200 combined  and this group is even more impressive.

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BORN IN 1980

Birthdate	Player	PGA Tour wins	Major wins
Jan. 9, 1980	Sergio Garcia	10	1
July 16, 1980	Adam Scott	13	1
July 30, 1980	Justin Rose	8	1

Could be three future Hall of Fame members here.Editor's note: Golf Channel's editorial research unit contributed.

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