Lawson Little

Lawson Little
Little in 1939
Personal information
Full name	William Lawson Little Jr.
Nickname	Cannonball
Born	(1910-06-23)June 23, 1910 Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	February 1, 1968(1968-02-01) (aged 57) Monterey, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Spouse	Dorothy Hurd (m. 1936–1968)
Children	4
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 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 an Army Colonel stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco.

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. 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. 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.

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 was a 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.^[1]

• Little won the James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding amateur athlete in 1935
• He is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame
• Little was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980

• 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

• 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.

• 1934 Northern California Open (as an amateur)

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).

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

Amateur

Professional

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,^[2] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,^[3] British Open^[4]

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

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1934 (winners)

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins

• Lawson Little at the World Golf Hall of Fame