Gene Littler

Gene Littler
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Gene Alec Littler
Born	(1930-07-21) July 21, 1930 San Diego, California
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Rancho Santa Fe, California
Career
College	San Diego State University
Turned professional	1954
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	52
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	29
Japan Golf Tour	2
PGA Tour Champions	8
Other	13
Best results in major championships (wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1970
U.S. Open	Won: 1961
The Open Championship	T18: 1974
PGA Championship	2nd: 1977
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1953
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1990 (member page)
Bob Jones Award	1973

Gene Alec Littler (born July 21, 1930) is an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.^[1] Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth rhythmical swing,^[1] he once said that, "Golf is not a game of great shots. It's a game of the best misses. The people who win make the smallest mistakes."

Early years and amateur career

Littler was born in San Diego, California. He played on the 1953 United States Walker Cup team, and won the U.S. Amateur and the California State Amateur that same year.^[1] In 1954, he won a PGA Tour event as an amateur, a rare achievement which was not to be repeated until Doug Sanders won the Canadian Open in 1956.

Littler graduated from San Diego State University. He also served in the United States Navy before turning pro in the spring of 1954.

Professional career

An early highlight of Littler's professional playing career was a second-place finish at the 1954 U.S. Open. He finished one shot behind Ed Furgol.

In 1955, he won four times on the tour, but fell into a slump in the late 1950s after tinkering with his swing. After taking advice from Paul Runyan and adjusting his grip,^[2] he recovered in 1959 to have his best year with five PGA Tour victories. He finished second on the money list that year, which was to remain his career best. Only once from 1954 to 1979 did Littler finish out of the top 60 on the final money list. He was stricken with melanoma cancer found in a lymph node under his left arm in 1972,^[1] but came back to win five more times on the PGA Tour. He ended his career with 29 PGA Tour wins, and also won two tournaments in Japan and one in Australia.

One of Littler's 29 PGA Tour wins was unique. When he won the 1975 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, it marked the first and (so far) only time that a player won that event as a professional after having previously won the pro-amateur portion, which Littler did as a 23-year-old amateur in 1954.^[3]

Littler won one major championship – the 1961 U.S. Open. He shot a 68 in the final round to overtake Doug Sanders. He accumulated 17 top-10 finishes in the three U.S.-based majors: seven at the Masters Tournament, five at the PGA Championship, and five at the U.S. Open. In addition to his U.S. Open victory, he had one second-place finish in each of the three U.S. majors, losing playoffs to Billy Casper at the 1970 Masters and to Lanny Wadkins at the 1977 PGA Championship. The latter was the first ever sudden-death playoff in a major. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup teams of 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1975, and had a 14-5-8 win/loss/tie record including five wins and three ties in 10 singles matches.

Littler received the Ben Hogan Award in 1973 for a courageous comeback from injury or illness, after returning to the tour following treatment for malignant melanoma. Also in 1973, he was given the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. In the 1980s and 1990s Littler played on the Senior PGA Tour, winning eight times. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.^[1]

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (29)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jan 21, 1954	San Diego Open (as an amateur)	−14 (67-66-69-72=274)	4 strokes	Dutch Harrison
2	Jan 9, 1955	Los Angeles Open	−8 (72-67-68-69=276)	2 strokes	Ted Kroll
3	Feb 6, 1955	Phoenix Open	−5 (66-70-68-71=275)	1 stroke	Billy Maxwell, Arnold Palmer
4	May 1, 1955	Tournament of Champions	−8 (69-71-68-72=280)	13 strokes	Jerry Barber, Pete Cooper, Bob Toski
5	Aug 28, 1955	Labatt Open	−8 (67-69-68-68=272)	Playoff	Stan Leonard
6	Feb 19, 1956	Texas Open Invitational	−12 (68-73-70-65=276)	2 stroke	Mike Fetchick, Frank Stranahan, Ernie Vossler
7	Apr 29, 1956	Tournament of Champions	−7 (70-71-69-71=281)	4 strokes	Cary Middlecoff
8	Jun 10, 1956	Palm Beach Round Robin	+55 pts (69-69-68-68-70=344)	24 points	Ted Kroll
9	Apr 21, 1957	Tournament of Champions	−3 (73-73-69-70=285)	3 strokes	Billy Casper, Jimmy Demaret, Dow Finsterwald, Billy Maxwell
10	Feb 8, 1959	Phoenix Open Invitational	−12 (67-63-67-71=268)	1 stroke	Art Wall, Jr.
11	Feb 15, 1959	Tucson Open Invitational	−14 (65-67-68-66=266)	1 stroke	Joe Campbell, Art Wall, Jr.
12	May 17, 1959	Arlington Hotel Open	−18 (67-69-64-70=270)	1 stroke	Jim Ferree
13	Jul 19, 1959	Insurance City Open Invitational	−12 (64-66-72-70=272)	1 stroke	Tom Nieporte
14	Aug 30, 1959	Miller Open Invitational	−15 (68-66-64-67=265)	1 stroke	Bob Rosburg, Bo Wininger
15	Jun 12, 1960	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−11 (71-64-70-68=273)	1 stroke	Art Wall, Jr.
16	Jul 31, 1960	Eastern Open Invitational	−15 (65-68-73-67=273)	2 strokes	Gary Player
17	Jun 17, 1961	U.S. Open	+1 (73-68-72-68=281)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby, Doug Sanders
18	Jan 28, 1962	Lucky International Open	−10 (65-68-68-73=274)	2 strokes	George Knudson
19	Jun 10, 1962	Thunderbird Classic Invitational	−13 (67-71-70-67=275)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
20	Jul 17, 1965	Canadian Open	−7 (70-68-69-66=273)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
21	Feb 16, 1969	Phoenix Open Invitational	−21 (69-66-62-66=263)	2 strokes	Miller Barber, Don January, Billy Maxwell
22	Apr 6, 1969	Greater Greensboro Open	−10 (66-70-69-69=274)	Playoff	Julius Boros, Orville Moody, Tom Weiskopf
23	Apr 18, 1971	Monsanto Open	−8 (71-67-71-67=276)	3 strokes	George Archer, Pete Brown
24	May 23, 1971	Colonial National Invitation	+3 (72-68-74-69=283)	1 stroke	Bert Yancey
25	Jul 22, 1973	St. Louis Children's Hospital Golf Classic	−12 (66-66-68-68=268)	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton
26	Jan 26, 1975	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	−8 (68-71-68-73=280)	4 strokes	Hubert Green
27	May 25, 1975	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−18 (67-68-69-66=270)	5 strokes	John Mahaffey
28	Aug 3, 1975	Westchester Classic	−17 (68-68-69-66=271)	Playoff	Julius Boros
29	May 1, 1977	Houston Open	−12 (70-65-67-74=276)	3 strokes	Lanny Wadkins

Source^[4]

PGA Tour playoff record (3–8)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1955	Labatt Open	Stan Leonard	Won with par on first playoff hole
2	1956	Texas International Open	Cary Middlecoff, Peter Thomson	Thomson won with birdie on second extra hole
3	1957	Western Open	George Bayer, Doug Ford, Billy Maxwell	Ford won with par on third extra hole Littler and Maxwell eliminated with par on first extra hole
4	1960	Memphis Open Invitational	Tommy Bolt, Ben Hogan	Lost an 18-hole playoff (Bolt:68, Hogan:69, Littler:71)
5	1962	Memphis Open Invitational	Lionel Hebert, Gary Player	Hebert won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1966	Tucson Open	Joe Campbell	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
7	1969	Greater Greensboro Open	Julius Boros, Orville Moody, Tom Weiskopf	Littler won with birdie on fifth extra hole Weiskopf eliminated with par on first hole
8	1970	Masters Tournament	Billy Casper	Lost an 18-hole playoff (Casper:69, Littler:74)
9	1975	Westchester Classic	Julius Boros	Won with par on first extra hole
10	1977	Tucson Open	Bruce Lietzke	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
11	1977	PGA Championship	Lanny Wadkins	Lost to par on third extra hole

Major championship is shown in bold.

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

1974 Taiheiyo Masters
1975 Taiheiyo Masters

Other wins (3)

this list may be incomplete

Champions Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 20, 1983	Greater Daytona Senior Classic	−13 (65-70-68=203)	6 strokes	Guy Wolstenholme
2	Jul 10, 1983	Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Classic	−9 (69-69-70-67=275)	2 strokes	Don January
3	Jan 4, 1984	Seiko-Tucson Senior Match Play Championship	1 up		Don January
4	May 4, 1986	Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic	−14 (65-66-71=202)	2 strokes	Don January
5	Aug 31, 1986	Bank One Senior Golf Classic	−12 (71-63-67=201)	Playoff	Miller Barber, Bob Goalby
6	Aug 2, 1987	NYNEX/Golf Digest Commemorative	−10 (67-68-65=200)	1 stroke	Dale Douglass
7	Nov 22, 1987	Gus Machado Senior Classic	−6 (71-67-69=207)	3 strokes	Orville Moody
8	Feb 26, 1989	Aetna Challenge	−7 (70-70-69=209)	2 strokes	Harold Henning

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1981	Peter Jackson Champions	Miller Barber	Lost to par on first extra hole
2	1986	Greater Grand Rapids Open	Jim Ferree, Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Ferree won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1986	Bank One Senior Golf Classic	Miller Barber, Bob Goalby	Littler won with par on third extra hole Goalby eliminated with par on first hole

Other senior wins (10)

1980 World Senior Invitational
1981 Vintage Invitational
1981 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Bob Rosburg)
1983 Vintage Invitational
1985 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Don January)
1986 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Don January)
1994 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Don January)
1997 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Don January)
2001 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Don January)
2004 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Don January)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1961	U.S. Open	3 shot deficit	+1 (73-68-72-68=281)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby, Doug Sanders

Amateur wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1953	U.S. Amateur	1 up	Dale Morey

Results timeline

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T22	T22	T12	CUT	42	T8
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	2	15	T34	T32	4	T11
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	R64	DNP	T10
U.S. Amateur	R64	DNP	QF	1	–	–	–	–	–	–

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	CUT	T15	4	T24	T13	T6	T44	T26	T43	T8
U.S. Open	CUT	1	T8	T21	T11	T8	T48	CUT	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T18	T5	T23	T34	T33	T28	T3	T7	T30	T48

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	2	T4	DNP	T17	T39	T22	T12	T8	T24	T10
U.S. Open	T12	T37	DNP	T18	CUT	T49	T50	DNP	T35	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T18	CUT	T32	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T4	T75	DNP	CUT	T28	T7	T22	2	CUT	T16

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983
Masters Tournament	49	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T38	DNP	T22	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	T49	CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

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

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	0	3	8	18	26	24
U.S. Open	1	1	0	3	5	12	25	20
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	2
PGA Championship	0	1	1	4	7	11	25	20
Totals	1	3	1	10	20	42	80	66

Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1962 PGA – 1967 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1961 U.S. Open – 1962 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 1953 (winners)

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners), 1969 (tie), 1971 (winners), 1975 (winners)

References

1 2 3 4 5 "World Golf Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved January 15, 2014.
↑ Kelley, Brent. "Gene Littler profile". About.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
↑ Shain, Jeff (February 1, 2013). "AT&T Pebble Beach – First Look". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
↑ Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Copyright PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 264. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.

External links

Gene Littler at the PGA Tour official site
Gene Littler at the Japan Golf Tour official site
World Golf Hall of Fame profile

U.S. Open champions

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# 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 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 1942–45 Cancelled due to World War II 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

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

U.S. Amateur champions

1895 Charles B. Macdonald 1896 H. J. Whigham 1897 H. J. Whigham 1898 Findlay S. Douglas 1899 Herbert M. Harriman 1900 Walter Travis 1901 Walter Travis 1902 Louis N. James 1903 Walter Travis 1904 Chandler Egan 1905 Chandler Egan 1906 Eben Byers 1907 Jerome Travers 1908 Jerome Travers 1909 Robert A. Gardner 1910 William C. Fownes Jr. 1911 Harold Hilton† 1912 Jerome Travers 1913 Jerome Travers 1914 Francis Ouimet 1915 Robert A. Gardner 1916 Chick Evans 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 1919 S. Davidson Herron 1920 Chick Evans 1921 Jesse P. Guilford 1922 Jess Sweetser 1923 Max R. Marston† 1924 Bobby Jones 1925 Bobby Jones 1926 George Von Elm 1927 Bobby Jones 1928 Bobby Jones 1929 Harrison R. Johnston 1930 Bobby Jones 1931 Francis Ouimet 1932 Ross Somerville 1933 George Dunlap 1934 Lawson Little 1935 Lawson Little 1936 John Fischer† 1937 Johnny Goodman 1938 Willie Turnesa 1939 Bud Ward 1940 Dick Chapman 1941 Bud Ward 1942–45 Cancelled due to World War II 1946 Ted Bishop† 1947 Skee Riegel 1948 Willie Turnesa 1949 Charles Coe 1950 Sam Urzetta† 1951 Billy Maxwell 1952 Jack Westland 1953 Gene Littler 1954 Arnold Palmer 1955 Harvie Ward 1956 Harvie Ward 1957 Hillman Robbins 1958 Charles Coe 1959 Jack Nicklaus 1960 Deane Beman 1961 Jack Nicklaus 1962 Labron Harris Jr. 1963 Deane Beman 1964 William C. Campbell 1965 Bob Murphy 1966 Gary Cowan† 1967 Bob Dickson 1968 Bruce Fleisher 1969 Steve Melnyk 1970 Lanny Wadkins 1971 Gary Cowan 1972 Vinny Giles 1973 Craig Stadler 1974 Jerry Pate 1975 Fred Ridley 1976 Bill Sander 1977 John Fought 1978 John Cook 1979 Mark O'Meara 1980 Hal Sutton 1981 Nathaniel Crosby 1982 Jay Sigel 1983 Jay Sigel 1984 Scott Verplank 1985 Sam Randolph 1986 Buddy Alexander 1987 Billy Mayfair 1988 Eric Meeks 1989 Chris Patton 1990 Phil Mickelson 1991 Mitch Voges 1992 Justin Leonard 1993 John Harris 1994 Tiger Woods 1995 Tiger Woods 1996 Tiger Woods† 1997 Matt Kuchar 1998 Hank Kuehne 1999 David Gossett 2000 Jeff Quinney† 2001 Bubba Dickerson 2002 Ricky Barnes 2003 Nick Flanagan† 2004 Ryan Moore 2005 Edoardo Molinari 2006 Richie Ramsay 2007 Colt Knost 2008 Danny Lee 2009 An Byeong-hun 2010 Peter Uihlein 2011 Kelly Kraft 2012 Steven Fox† 2013 Matthew Fitzpatrick 2014 Gunn Yang 2015 Bryson DeChambeau 2016 Curtis Luck

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

Gene Littler in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1961

Billy Casper Bill Collins Dow Finsterwald Doug Ford Jay Hebert Gene Littler Arnold Palmer Mike Souchak Art Wall Jr. Jerry Barber (playing captain)

Won: 14.5 – 5.5

United States Ryder Cup team – 1963

Julius Boros Billy Casper Dow Finsterwald Bob Goalby Tony Lema Gene Littler Billy Maxwell Johnny Pott Dave Ragan Arnold Palmer (playing captain)

Won: 23 – 9

United States Ryder Cup team – 1965

Julius Boros Billy Casper Tommy Jacobs Don January Tony Lema Gene Littler Dave Marr Arnold Palmer Ken Venturi Byron Nelson (non-playing captain)

Won: 19.5 – 12.5 Johnny Pott: Made the team, but did not participate in the event due to a back injury.

United States Ryder Cup team – 1967

Julius Boros Gay Brewer Billy Casper Gardner Dickinson Al Geiberger Gene Littler Bobby Nichols Johnny Pott Arnold Palmer Doug Sanders Ben Hogan (non-playing captain)

Won: 23.5 – 8.5

United States Ryder Cup team – 1969

Tommy Aaron Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Dale Douglass Raymond Floyd Dave Hill Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Dan Sikes Ken Still Lee Trevino Sam Snead (non-playing captain)

Tied: 16 – 16

United States Ryder Cup team – 1971

Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Charles Coody Gardner Dickinson Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Mason Rudolph J. C. Snead Dave Stockton Lee Trevino Jay Hebert (non-playing captain)

Won: 18.5 – 13.5

United States Ryder Cup team – 1975

Billy Casper Raymond Floyd Al Geiberger Lou Graham Hale Irwin Gene Littler Johnny Miller Bob Murphy Jack Nicklaus J. C. Snead Lee Trevino Tom Weiskopf Arnold Palmer (non-playing captain)

Won: 21 – 11

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