Willie Anderson (golfer)

For the Scotland national rugby union team coach, see Willie Anderson (rugby player)

Willie Anderson
— Golfer —
Anderson at the 1909 Western Open
Personal information
Full name	William Law Anderson
Born	(1879-10-21)21 October 1879 North Berwick, Scotland, UK
Died	25 October 1910(1910-10-25) (aged 31) Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	Scotland
Spouse	Agnes Beakley
Career
Status	Professional
Best results in major championships (Wins: 4)
U.S. Open	Won: 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1975 (member page)

William Law Anderson (21 October 1879 – 25 October 1910) was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who became the first golfer to win four U.S. Opens, with victories in 1901, 1903, 1904, and 1905. He is still the only man to win three consecutive titles, and only Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus have equalled his total of four championships. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life

Anderson was born in North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. He was educated at the public school in North Berwick and was a licensed caddie on the West Links at the age of 11. Upon leaving school he apprenticed as a club maker under Alex Aitken in Gullane. At age 16 Anderson emigrated from Scotland to the United States in March 1896—sailing aboard the S.S. Pomeranian from Glasgow—along with his father, Thomas Anderson, and his brother Tom, landing at Ellis Island.^[1] He played in the U.S. Open the following year, finishing in second place by one stroke, after Joe Lloyd eagled the final hole.

Golf career

His first significant win came in 1899 at the Southern California Open, before he started his run at the U.S. Open. In the 14 straight Opens that he played, Anderson won four, was second once, third once, fourth twice, fifth three times, 11th twice and 15th once. He won titles with both the old gutta-percha golf ball, and the rubber-cored ball which came into use in 1902. Anderson also won the Western Open in 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1909.

Anderson's accuracy with all clubs, combined with his concentration under pressure, made him a formidable and highly respected competitor. Anderson made his living as a golf professional, working at ten different clubs in fourteen years. He listed the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York as his home course from 1901 through 1906.^[2] He played many exhibition challenge matches for stakes, in addition to tournaments.^[3]

Death and legacy

Anderson died at age 31, officially from epilepsy^[1] in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Golf historian Robert Sommers wrote—incorrectly as it turned out—that Anderson 'drank himself to death'.^[3] He is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.^[4]

Anderson was an original member of the PGA Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.

Willie Anderson (left) with Alex Smith, whom he beat in a playoff to win in 1901

Willie Anderson, c. 1905

Major championships

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1901	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	84-83-83-81=331	Playoff ¹	Alex Smith
1903	U.S. Open (2)	6 shot lead	73-76-76-82=307	Playoff ²	David Brown
1904	U.S. Open (3)	2 shot deficit	75-78-78-72=303	5 strokes	Gilbert Nicholls
1905	U.S. Open (4)	1 shot deficit	81-80-76-77=314	2 strokes	Alex Smith

¹ Defeated Alex Smith in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (85), Smith (86)
² Defeated David Brown in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (82), Brown (84)

Results timeline

Among the majors, Anderson played in only the U.S. Open.

Tournament	1897	1898	1899	1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910
U.S. Open	2	3	5	T11	1	T5^[5]	1	1	1	5	15	4	T4	11

"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

References

1 2 Gold, Jeff (2015). Golf's Forgotten Legends & Unforgettable Controversies. New York: Morgan James Publishing. pp. 20–28. ISBN 978-1-63047-303-7. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
↑ "The Chicago Daily News Almanac: For Harvard College". The Chicago Daily News. 1918. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
1 2 The U.S. Open: Golf's Ultimate Challenge, second edition, by Robert Sommers, 1995.
↑ Seaton, Douglas (2007). "Willie Anderson". Retrieved 15 June 2007.
↑ "Open Golf Champion". The Saint Paul Globe (Minnesota). 12 October 1902. Retrieved 26 August 2015.

External links

U.S. Open champions

1895 Horace Rawlins 1896 James Foulis 1897 Joe Lloyd 1898 Fred Herd 1899 Willie Smith 1900 Harry Vardon 1901 Willie Anderson† 1902 Laurie Auchterlonie 1903 Willie Anderson† 1904 Willie Anderson 1905 Willie Anderson 1906 Alex Smith 1907 Alec Ross 1908 Fred McLeod† 1909 George Sargent 1910 Alex Smith† 1911 John McDermott† 1912 John McDermott 1913 Francis Ouimet#† 1914‡ Walter Hagen 1915 Jerome Travers# 1916 Chick Evans# 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 1919 Walter Hagen† 1920 Ted Ray 1921‡ Jim Barnes 1922 Gene Sarazen 1923 Bobby Jones#† 1924 Cyril Walker 1925 Willie Macfarlane† 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927 Tommy Armour† 1928 Johnny Farrell† 1929 Bobby Jones#† 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Billy Burke† 1932 Gene Sarazen 1933 Johnny Goodman# 1934 Olin Dutra 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. 1936 Tony Manero 1937 Ralph Guldahl 1938 Ralph Guldahl 1939 Byron Nelson† 1940 Lawson Little† 1941 Craig Wood 1942–45 Cancelled due to World War II 1946 Lloyd Mangrum† 1947 Lew Worsham† 1948 Ben Hogan 1949 Cary Middlecoff 1950 Ben Hogan† 1951 Ben Hogan 1952 Julius Boros 1953‡ Ben Hogan 1954 Ed Furgol 1955 Jack Fleck† 1956 Cary Middlecoff 1957 Dick Mayer† 1958 Tommy Bolt 1959 Billy Casper 1960 Arnold Palmer 1961 Gene Littler 1962 Jack Nicklaus† 1963 Julius Boros† 1964 Ken Venturi 1965 Gary Player† 1966 Billy Casper† 1967 Jack Nicklaus 1968 Lee Trevino 1969 Orville Moody 1970‡ Tony Jacklin 1971 Lee Trevino† 1972 Jack Nicklaus 1973 Johnny Miller 1974 Hale Irwin 1975 Lou Graham† 1976 Jerry Pate 1977 Hubert Green 1978 Andy North 1979 Hale Irwin 1980 Jack Nicklaus 1981 David Graham 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Larry Nelson 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller† 1985 Andy North 1986 Raymond Floyd 1987 Scott Simpson 1988 Curtis Strange† 1989 Curtis Strange 1990 Hale Irwin† 1991 Payne Stewart† 1992 Tom Kite 1993 Lee Janzen 1994 Ernie Els† 1995 Corey Pavin 1996 Steve Jones 1997 Ernie Els 1998 Lee Janzen 1999 Payne Stewart 2000‡ Tiger Woods 2001 Retief Goosen† 2002‡ Tiger Woods 2003 Jim Furyk 2004 Retief Goosen 2005 Michael Campbell 2006 Geoff Ogilvy 2007 Ángel Cabrera 2008 Tiger Woods† 2009 Lucas Glover 2010 Graeme McDowell 2011‡ Rory McIlroy 2012 Webb Simpson 2013 Justin Rose 2014‡ Martin Kaymer 2015 Jordan Spieth

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

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