Lawson Little

Lawson Little
Lawson Little
Personal information
Full name	William Lawson Little Jr.
Nickname	Cannonball
Born	June 23, 1910; Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island
Died	February 1, 1968 (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
PGA Championship	T17: 1946, 1951
U.S. Open	Won: 1940
The Open Championship	T4: 1935
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1934, 1935
British Amateur	Won: 1934, 1935
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame
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 Match Play Championship
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 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.

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
1934	British Amateur	14 & 13
1935	U.S. Amateur	4 & 2
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						1	1

Professional

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

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		T32
PGA Championship				NT			R32		R64	R64

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

Win

Top 10

Did not play

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,^[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	19	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	44	35

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

U.S. national team appearances[]