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

Tournament	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935
U.S. Amateur	QF	R16	DNQ	R32	SF	1	1
The Amateur Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	1	1

Professional

Tournament	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	DNP	6 LA	T20	T19	T10	T3
U.S. Open	T25 LA	DNP	DNP	CUT	T38	T42
The Open Championship	DNP	T4 LA	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	T19	8	T7	NT	NT	NT	T21	T14	T40	T23
U.S. Open	1	T17	NT	NT	NT	NT	T10	T31	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	10	DNP	T32	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	DNP	R32	DNP	R64	R64

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957
Masters Tournament	9	6	WD	WD	T38	65	T72	T28
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	CUT	T45	T35	CUT	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	R32	R64	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

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

Tournament	Wins	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	1	7	13	20	18
U.S. Open	1	0	1	2	4	16	9
The Open Championship	0	0	1	2	2	4	3
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	2	5	5
Totals	1	1	3	11	21	45	35

Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1940 Masters – 1948 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

U.S. national team appearances