Lawson Little

Lawson Little
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	William Lawson Little, Jr.
Nickname	Cannonball
Born	(1910-06-23)June 23, 1910 Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island
Died	February 1, 1968(1968-02-01) (aged 57) Monterey, California
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Dorothy Hurd (m. 1936-1968)
Children	Linda, Sandra, Sonya, William Lawson III
Career
College	Stanford University
Turned professional	1936
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	9
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	8
Best results in major championships (Wins: 5)
Masters Tournament	T3: 1939
U.S. Open	Won: 1940
The Open Championship	T4: 1935
PGA Championship	T17: 1946, 1951
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1934, 1935
British Amateur	Won: 1934, 1935
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1980 (member page)
James E. Sullivan Award	1935

William Lawson Little, Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career.

Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and lived much of his early life in the San Francisco area, where his father was a senior military officer. 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. 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 graduated from Stanford University in 1934 and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He won the James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding amateur athlete in 1935. Little was a student of golf instructor Ernest Jones.

Little turned professional in April 1936, and he won eight times on the PGA Tour including one professional major, the 1940 U.S. Open. This tally was considered somewhat disappointing; he was said to have lost interest in golf during World War II, when the major championships were cancelled, and to have focused his attention more on the stock market. 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.

Little died in Monterey, California in 1968. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980.

Amateur wins (9)

• 1928 Northern California Amateur
• 1929 Orinda Country Club Fourth of July Invitational
• 1930 Northern California Amateur
• 1932 Broadmoor Invitational
• 1933 Colorado Closed Amateur
• 1934 U.S. Amateur, British Amateur
• 1935 U.S. Amateur, British Amateur

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (8)

• 1936 (1) Canadian Open
• 1937 (2) Shawnee Open, San Francisco Open Match Play
• 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.

Other wins

• 1934 Northern California Open (as an amateur)

Major championships

Professional wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-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)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-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

Professional

LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
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
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Sources: Masters,^[1] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,^[2] British Open^[3]

Summary

• 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

• World Golf Hall of Fame profile