William C. Campbell (golfer)

William C. Campbell
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Cammack Campbell
Born(1923-05-05)May 5, 1923
Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 30, 2013(2013-08-30) (aged 90)
Lewisburg, West Virginia, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegePrinceton University
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT36: 1955, 1966
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT23: 1954
The Open ChampionshipDNP
U.S. AmateurWon: 1964
British Amateur2nd: 1954
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1990 (member page)
Bob Jones Award1956
Old Tom Morris Award1991
William C. Campbell
Allegiance United States
Service / branch Army

William Cammack Campbell (May 5, 1923 – August 30, 2013), often known as Bill Campbell or William C. Campbell, became one of the most distinguished amateur golfers in golf history. Campbell was two-time President of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and one time Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.

Campbell was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy where he won his first tournaments, served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and graduated from Princeton University in 1947 with a degree in history. Campbell was a star in collegiate golf and swimming competitions while at Princeton. With little desire to play professionally, Campbell ran his family's Huntington insurance firm for close to sixty years, served in the West Virginia State legislature and sat on numerous corporate boards.

Campbell was also the stepfather of Academy Award-nominated actor Brad Dourif.

Golf career

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In his amateur golfing career, Campbell played in 37 U.S. Amateurs, including 33 consecutively from 1941–77. Campbell's victory in the 1964 U.S. Amateur at Canterbury Golf Club was his crowning achievement on the golf course.[1] He played on eight Walker Cup teams from 1951 to 1975, captaining the 1955 team, and finished with an overall record of 11–4–3 (7–0–1 in singles matches). He was runner-up in the 1954 British Amateur. He was three times runner-up in the Canadian Amateur Championship, in 1952, 1954, and 1965. He won three West Virginia Opens, four North and South Amateurs, and fifteen West Virginia Amateur titles. He won the U.S. Senior Amateur in 1979 and 1980 (medalist in 1979, 1980, and 1984), and finished 2nd overall in the 1980 U.S. Senior Open.

Campbell qualified for 19 Masters Tournaments and played in 18 of them in a span of 26 years, more than any amateur in history. He also played in 15 U.S. Opens.

Campbell served on the Executive Committee of the USGA from 1962–1965, and again from 1977 to 1984. He was the treasurer in 1978–1979, vice-president in 1980–1981, then served as president in 1982 and 1983. In 1987, he was named Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, just the third American to hold that post, becoming the first person to head both of golf's main governing bodies.

Awards

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In 1956, Campbell was awarded the Bob Jones Award, the USGA's highest honor. Campbell was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. He also received the 1991 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. He was inducted into the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2009 with Sam Snead.[2]

Tournament wins (32)

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Results in major championships

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Amateur wins (1)

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Year Championship Winning score Runner-up
1964 U.S. Amateur 1 up United States Ed Tutwiler

Results timeline

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Tournament 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament NT NT NT
U.S. Open NT NT NT NT CUT
U.S. Amateur DNQ NT NT NT NT – R128 R128 SF
British Amateur NT NT NT NT NT R64
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament T46 59 T45 T51 T36 T43 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT T23 CUT
U.S. Amateur R256 R256 R16 R16 R16 R64 R16 R64 R128 R128
British Amateur R16 R16 R32 2 R256
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT T36 T48
U.S. Open CUT CUT T34 CUT CUT
U.S. Amateur R64 R256 R128 R16 1 T8 T16 T7 T33 T39
British Amateur R256 R64 R128
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Masters Tournament CUT WD CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Amateur T8 T14 T23 SF QF R256 R32 R128 DNQ – DNQ
British Amateur R256 R256

Note: Campbell never played in the British Open nor the PGA Championship (for which he was never eligible being an amateur).

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low Amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur:USGA Championship Database

Source for 1949 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1949, pg. 8.

Source for 1950 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1950, pg. 7.

Source for 1951 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1951, pg. 7.

Source for 1953 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1953, pg. 4.

Source for 1955 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, June 1, 1955, pg. 4.

Source for 1973 U.S. Amateur: [1]

Source for 1974 U.S. Amateur: [2] Archived February 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

References

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  1. ^ "1964 US Amateur". Canterbury Golf Club. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  2. ^ "West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame - Class of 2009 - William C. Campbell". West Virginia Golf Association. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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