William Lawson Little Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career.
Early life In 1910, Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He lived much of his early life in the San Francisco area, where his father was an Army Colonel stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco.
Amateur career Little was one of the most dominant amateur players in the history of the sport, capturing both the British Amateur and the U.S. Amateur, then regarded as major championships, consecutively in 1934 and 1935. This feat was referred to as the "Little Slam". He remains the only player to have won both titles in the same year more than once. Little's winning margin of 14 and 13 in the 1934 British final remains the record for dominance. Bob Dickson, Harold Hilton and Bobby Jones are the only other golfers to have won the two titles in the same year.
Little attended Stanford University. He was a student of golf instructor Ernest Jones.
Professional career In 1936, Little turned professional. He won eight times on the PGA Tour including one professional major, the 1940 U.S. Open. Little spent much of his early professional career traveling the country with Bobby Jones and fellow golfers Horton Smith, Jimmy Thomson, and Harry Cooper with the intentions of growing the game of golf in a Spaulding-sponsored effort called The Keystones of Golf. He carried up to 26 clubs in his bag, and this prompted the United States Golf Association to introduce the 14-club limit in 1938.
Personal life Little raised his family in a house that sat on Fairway One of the Pebble Beach golf course and stayed actively involved in the golf world well into his twilight years.
He was an active photographer and sports writer for many publications and would hold golf clinics at the Masters and Crosby events.
Little died in 1968 of a heart attack at his home in Monterey, California, at the age of 57.
Awards and honors
In 1935, Little won the James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding amateur athlete. He is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame In 1980, Little was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Amateur wins
1928 Northern California Amateur Championship 1931 Northern California Championship, Denver, Colorado Invitational Championship 1933 Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship, Broadmoor Invitational, Colorado State Amateur Championship 1934 British Amateur, Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship, U.S. Amateur 1935 British Amateur, U.S. Amateur Amateur major championships are shown in bold.
Professional wins PGA Tour wins (8) 1936 (1) Canadian Open 1937 (2) Shawnee Open, San Francisco National Match Play Open 1940 (2) U.S. Open, Los Angeles Open 1941 (1) Texas Open 1942 (1) Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Lloyd Mangrum) 1948 (1) St. Petersburg Open
Professional major championship is shown in bold.
Source:
Other wins 1934 Northern California Open (as an amateur)
Major championships Professional wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 1940 U.S. Open 1 shot deficit −1 (72-69-73-73=287) Playoff 1 Gene Sarazen 1 Defeated Sarazen in an 18-hole playoff - Little 70 (−2), Sarazen 73 (+1).
Amateur wins (4) YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up 1934 U.S. Amateur 8 & 7 David Goldman 1934 British Amateur 14 & 13 James Wallace 1935 U.S. Amateur 4 & 2 Walter Emery 1935 British Amateur 1 up William Tweddell
Results timeline Amateur Tournament1929193019311932193319341935U.S. AmateurQFR16DNQR32SF11The Amateur Championship11
Professional Tournament193419351936193719381939Masters Tournament6 LAT20T19T10T3U.S. OpenT25 LACUTT38T42The Open ChampionshipT4 LACUTPGA Championship
Tournament1940194119421943194419451946194719481949Masters TournamentT198T7NTNTNTT21T14T40T23U.S. Open1T17NTNTNTNTT10T31CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipNTNTNTNTNTNT10T32PGA ChampionshipNTR32R64R64
Tournament19501951195219531954195519561957Masters Tournament96WDT3865T72T28U.S. OpenCUTCUTCUTT45T35CUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipR32R64
LA = low amateur NT = no tournament WD = withdrew CUT = missed the half-way cut DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion of U.S. Amateur R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play "T" indicates a tie for a place
Sources: Masters, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,USGA Championship Database British Open
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 1 1 7 13 19 18U.S. Open 1 0 0 1 2 4 16 9The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 3PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 5Totals 1 0 1 3 11 21 44 35 Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1940 Masters – 1948 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)
U.S. national team appearances Amateur Walker Cup: 1934 (winners)
See also List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References
External links