

Gene Sarazen once took a tour to the Philippine Islands, where he had a match scheduled for the day after he got off the boat. But, when he checked into his hotel and examined his clothing, Sarazen found that his golf outfits were soiled and out of press. Sarazen prided himself on dressing in the height of style. He could not possibly go onto a golf course wearing dirty clothing. So he called for valet service, and a few minutes later, he heard a knock on his door. He opened it to find a beautiful young woman smiling at him.
“I need these clothes clean right away,” Sarazen said, not sure she understood him. “Clean. You know what I mean?”
The woman smiled and nodded. He gave her the clothes. A short time later she was back with them. They were freshly washed and pressed. He gave her a large tip and she thanked him, still smiling.
The next morning, Sarazen was out practicing on Manila’s beautiful Wack Wack Golf Course. A course official tapped him on the shoulder.
“Mr. Sarazen, I would like to introduce you to your opponent,” he said. Sarazen looked. Behind the official stood the same woman he had given his clothes to!
It had been a mistake. She was a golfer who had just come to his room to meet him. When Sarazen mistook her for a valet service, she thought it would be funny if she washed his clothes and then played against him in a golf match.
She was a superb golfer. Sarazen just managed to beat her on the nine-hole course, 38-37. Her name was Dominga Capati, and she went on to become the Philippine women’s champion five times.
From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
There are a couple of things I find interesting about this story, aside from Sarazen’s casual racism:
1. Capati used to be a professional laundry worker before leaving it behind for golf.
2. What happened to the actual valet who was supposed to come by and pick up his clothes?