Willie Anderson (golfer)
Willie Anderson | |||
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![]() Anderson at the 1909 Western Open | |||
Personal information | |||
Full name | William Law Anderson | ||
Born | (1879-10-21)21 October 1879 North Berwick, Scotland, U.K. | ||
Died | 25 October 1910(1910-10-25) (aged 31) Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||
Spouse | Agnes Beakley | ||
Career | |||
Turned professional | 1896 | ||
Professional wins | 9 | ||
Best results in major championships (wins: 4) | |||
U.S. Open | Won: 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
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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
Born in North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland, Anderson 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 18, Anderson emigrated from Scotland to the United States in March 1896—sailing aboard the S.S. Poseidon 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; this tournament, the second-oldest in the U.S.,[2] was classified as a PGA Tour event for most of its more than 100 years of operation, and is classified by some golf historians as a major championship during Anderson's era.
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.[3] He played many exhibition challenge matches for stakes, in addition to tournaments.[4]
Death and legacy
Anderson died at age 31, officially from epilepsy[1] in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had played competitive matches in Pennsylvania right up to a few days before his death. However, golf historian Robert Sommers wrote in 1995 that Anderson 'drank himself to death'.[4] Anderson is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[5]
Anderson was an original member of the PGA Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/WillieAndersonAlexSmith.jpg/250px-WillieAndersonAlexSmith.jpg)
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 | ![]() |
1903 | U.S. Open (2) | 6 shot lead | 73-76-76-82=307 | Playoff 2 | ![]() |
1904 | U.S. Open (3) | 2 shot deficit | 75-78-78-72=303 | 5 strokes | ![]() |
1905 | U.S. Open (4) | 1 shot deficit | 81-80-76-77=314 | 2 strokes | ![]() |
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[6] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 4 | T4 | 11 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Other victories
(Note: this list may be incomplete)
- 1899 Southern California Open
- 1902 Western Open
- 1904 Western Open
- 1908 Western Open
- 1909 Western Open
See also
References
- ^ a b Gold, Jeff (2015). Golf's Forgotten Legends & Unforgettable Controversies. New York: Morgan James Publishing. pp. 20–28. ISBN 978-1-63047-303-7.
- ^ Golf Courses of the PGA Tour, by George Peper, 1986, chapter on Western Open
- ^ "The Chicago Daily News Almanac: For Harvard College". The Chicago Daily News. 1918. p. 331.
- ^ a b 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
- Willie Anderson at the World Golf Hall of Fame
- Willie Anderson at the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
- Willie Anderson – The Forgotten Superstar of Golf
- Famous North Berwick Golfers – William Law Anderson
- Willie Anderson at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- 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#
- 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
- 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
- 2016 Dustin Johnson
- 2017 Brooks Koepka
- 2018 Brooks Koepka
- 2019 Gary Woodland
- 2020 Bryson DeChambeau
- 2021 Jon Rahm
- 2022 Matt Fitzpatrick
- 2023 Wyndham Clark
- 2024 Bryson DeChambeau