Lawson Little

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 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. 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 Monterey, California, in 1968 at the age of 57. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980.

Amateur record (19 wins)
1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
 * Western Amateur Championship - Qualified Championship flight, defeated first round by Chick Evans
 * Winner Northern California Amateur Championship (2 months before 18th birthday)
 * Winner Presidio Golf Club Championship
 * Winner and Medalist Presidio Golf Club Championship
 * Winner Orinda Country Club Fourth of July Invitational
 * Quarter-finalist U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach (1st National Amateur)
 * Medalist California State Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach
 * Quarter-finalist California State Amateur Championship, defeated by winner, Francis Brown
 * Defeated 2nd round U.S. Amateur Championship by Gene Holmans, runner-up to Bob Jones
 * Winner Stanford University Championship
 * Winner Northern California Championship
 * Winner Denver, Colorado Invitational Championship (Medal Play)
 * Did not qualify U.S. Amateur at Beverly C.C. Chicago, IL.
 * Defeated in 1st round U.S. Amateur by medalist, Johnny Fischer.
 * Winner Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship, Pebble Beach, CA
 * Winner & Medalist Broadmoor Invitational, Colorado Springs, CO
 * Winner & Medalist Colorado State Amateur Championship, Cherry Hills CC
 * Winner Stanford University Championship
 * Runner-up Trans-Mississippi Championship, Colorado Springs, CO
 * Semi-finalist U.S. Amateur (defeated Sandy Summerville, the Champion, in quarter-finals, was defeated by eventual winner, Geo Dunlap)
 * Winner 8&6 U.S. Walker Cup with partner Johnny Goodman
 * Winner 6&5 U.S. Walker Cup singles vs. No.2 Cyril Tolley
 * Winner British Amateur Championship at Prestwick Golf Club by record margin 14&15
 * Low Amateur in U.S. Open
 * Winner Northern California Open
 * Winner Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship
 * Winner U.S. Amateur Championship, defeated David Goodwin 8&7 at The Country Club in Brookline, MA
 * Low Amateur Masters. Finished 6th. Score 288
 * Low Amateur British Open. Finished 4th. Score 289 (Set Amateur course record of 69 at Muirfield Golf Club, Scotland)
 * Winner British Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lancashire, England. 1 up (Second year in a row)
 * Winner U.S. Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Cleveland, OH. 4&2. (Second year in a row)

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)

Professional wins (1)
1 Defeated Sarazen in an 18-hole playoff - Little 70 (−2), Sarazen 73 (+1).

Results timeline
Amateur

Professional

{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|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, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, British Open

Summary

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

U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
 * Walker Cup: 1934 (winners)