Lawson Little


William Lawson Little Jr. 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)

Professional major championship is shown in bold.
Source:

Other wins

Professional wins (1)

1 Defeated Sarazen in an 18-hole playoff - Little 70, Sarazen 73.

Amateur wins (4)

Results timeline

Amateur
Tournament1929193019311932193319341935
U.S. AmateurQFR16DNQR32SF11
The Amateur Championship11

Professional
Tournament193419351936193719381939
Masters Tournament6 LAT20T19T10T3
U.S. OpenT25 LACUTT38T42
The Open ChampionshipT4 LACUT
PGA Championship

Tournament1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
Masters TournamentT198T7NTNTNTT21T14T40T23
U.S. Open1T17NTNTNTNTT10T31CUTCUT
The Open ChampionshipNTNTNTNTNTNT10T32
PGA ChampionshipNTR32R64R64

Tournament19501951195219531954195519561957
Masters Tournament96WDT3865T72T28
U.S. OpenCUTCUTCUTT45T35CUT
The Open Championship
PGA 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, British Open

Summary

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 13
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2

    U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
  • Walker Cup: 1934