Gene Littler

Gene Littler
Gene Littler
	Littler at the 1959 U.S. Open
Personal information
Full name	Gene Alec Littler
Born	July 21, 1930; San Diego, California, U.S.
Died	February 15, 2019 (aged 88); San Diego, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Spouse	Shirley Warren (m. 1951)
Children	2
Career
College	San Diego State University
Turned professional	1954
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour; Champions Tour
Professional wins	54
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	29
Japan Golf Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
PGA Tour Champions	8
Other	15
Best results in major championships; (wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1970
PGA Championship	2nd: 1977
U.S. Open	Won: 1961
The Open Championship	T18: 1974
U.S. Amateur	Won: 1953
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame	1990 (member page)
Bob Jones Award	1973

Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019)^[1] was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.^[2] Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing,^[2] 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^[3] and the California State Amateur^[4] that same year.^[2] In 1954, he won a PGA Tour event as an amateur,^[5] a rare achievement which was not to be repeated until Doug Sanders won the Canadian Open in 1956. Littler is one of only very few players who won both a U.S. national junior tournament (he won the 1948 U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska) and the U.S. Amateur.

Littler graduated from San Diego State University, and after that served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1954.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

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. In 1959 after taking advice he received from Paul Runyan and adjusting his grip,^[7] he recovered 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,^[2] but came back to win five more times on the PGA Tour. He won many championships including 29 PGA Tour wins. He played on the Men's Senior PGA Tour and also won two major tournaments in Japan and one in Australia. In his book, Gene Littler The Real Score with Jack Tobin an Appendix B states that "through the 1975 season only eight players in the history of golf had earned over $1 Million in sanctioned professional golf play" (listed in order the eight were Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Bruce Crampton, Tom Weiskopf, Gene Littler, Gary Player).

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.^[8]

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.^[2]

Personal life and death

On January 5, 1951, ten days before joining the Navy, Littler married Shirley Warren, his university classmate. They had a son, Curt, born in March 1954 and a daughter, Suzanne, born in October 1957.^[9]^[10] Littler died at the age of 88 on February 15, 2019.^[11]^[12]

In popular culture

Littler inspired Sandy Mac Divot, the main character of the long running comic strip Mac Divot by Jordan Lanski (a former schoolmate of Littler) and Mel Keefer.^[13]

Professional wins (54)

PGA Tour wins (29)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (28)

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 strokes	Mike Fetchick, Frank Stranahan, Ernie Vossler
7	Apr 29, 1956	Tournament of Champions (2)	−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)	−3 (73-73-69-70=285)	3 strokes	Billy Casper, Jimmy Demaret, Dow Finsterwald, Billy Maxwell
10	Feb 8, 1959	Phoenix Open Invitational (2)	−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 (3)	−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

PGA Tour playoff record (3–8)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1955	Labatt Open	Stan Leonard	Won with par on first extra 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 by par on first hole
4	1960	Memphis Open Invitational	Tommy Bolt, Ben Hogan	Bolt won 18-hole playoff; Bolt: −2 (68), Hogan: −1 (69), Littler: +1 (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	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole Weiskopf eliminated by par on first hole
8	1970	Masters Tournament	Billy Casper	Lost 18-hole playoff; Casper: −3 (69), Littler: +2 (74)
9	1975	Westchester Classic	Julius Boros	Won with par on first extra hole
10	1977	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	Bruce Lietzke	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
11	1977	PGA Championship	Lanny Wadkins	Lost to par on third extra hole

Source:^[14]

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Oct 12, 1975	Taiheiyo Club Masters	−6 (69-66-73-70=278)	1 stroke	Lee Elder, Hubert Green, Allen Miller, Masashi Ozaki

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Mar 2, 1980	Australian Masters	−4 (70-74-67-77=288)	Playoff	Rodger Davis

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1980	Australian Masters	Rodger Davis	Won with bogey on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA 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

Senior PGA 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	Won with par on third extra hole Goalby eliminated by par on first hole

Japan Senior Tour wins (2)

1983 Coca-Cola Grandslam Championship
1987 Coca-Cola Grandslam Championship

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	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament				T22	T22	T12	CUT	42	T8
U.S. Open				2	15	T34	T32	4	T11
The Open Championship
PGA Championship							R64		T10
U.S. Amateur	R64	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		CUT
The Open Championship			CUT
PGA Championship	T18	T5	T23	T34	T33	T28	T3	T7	T30	T48

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

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

Win

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

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)
Hopkins Trophy: 1956 (winners)

References

^ "Gene Littler, golfer who won the US Open and was admired for the beauty of his swing – obituary". Daily Telegraph. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "World Golf Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved January 15, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Wallis, Wally (September 20, 1953). "Littler Wraps Up Amateur Golf Crown". The Daily Oklahoman. pp. 1D, 2D – via newspapers.com. Gene Littler, a poker-faced flying sailor from California, won the 53rd National Amateur golf championship ...
^ ^a ^b "Gene Littler Tops California Meet". Deseret News and Telegram. United Press. October 5, 1953. p. B5 – via newspapers.com. The San Diego sailor shot ...
^ ^a ^b "Gene Littler Weighs Future as Pro Golfer". Citizen-News. Associated Press. January 25, 1952. p. 8 – via newspapers.com. Littler left the scene of the $15,000 San Diego Open with the title ... Littler ... went back to his duties in the air service of the U.S. Navy at San Diego
^ Fraley, Oscar (January 28, 1954). "Newcomers Will Give Pro Golf Shot In The Arm". Ogden Standard-Examiner. United Press. p. 2B – via newspapers.com. Soon to be discharged from the Navy, Littler just turned professional.
^ Kelley, Brent. "Gene Littler profile". About.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
^ Shain, Jeff (February 1, 2013). "AT&T Pebble Beach – First Look". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
^ White, Gordon S. (August 4, 1975). "Comeback Star of Pro Golf Tour". The New York Times.
^ Wright, Alfred (May 14, 1962). "Loud Noise From the Quiet Man". Sports Illustrated.
^ Strege, John (February 15, 2019). "Gene Littler, a U.S. Open champion and member of World Golf Hall of Fame, has died". Golf Digest.
^ Goldstein, Richard (February 16, 2019). "Gene Littler, Golfer With a Gorgeous Swing, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
^ Trinkle, Jim (January 26, 1978). "On tour with Sandy". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 37. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 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
Gene Littler at the World Golf Hall of Fame

[1] "Gene Littler, golfer who won the US Open and was admired for the beauty of his swing – obituary". Daily Telegraph. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.

[wghof-2] "World Golf Hall of Fame profile". Retrieved January 15, 2014.

[usamat53-3] Wallis, Wally (September 20, 1953). "Littler Wraps Up Amateur Golf Crown". The Daily Oklahoman. pp. 1D, 2D – via newspapers.com. Gene Littler, a poker-faced flying sailor from California, won the 53rd National Amateur golf championship ...

[CAamat53-4] "Gene Littler Tops California Meet". Deseret News and Telegram. United Press. October 5, 1953. p. B5 – via newspapers.com. The San Diego sailor shot ...

[SDO54-5] "Gene Littler Weighs Future as Pro Golfer". Citizen-News. Associated Press. January 25, 1952. p. 8 – via newspapers.com. Littler left the scene of the $15,000 San Diego Open with the title ... Littler ... went back to his duties in the air service of the U.S. Navy at San Diego

[6] Fraley, Oscar (January 28, 1954). "Newcomers Will Give Pro Golf Shot In The Arm". Ogden Standard-Examiner. United Press. p. 2B – via newspapers.com. Soon to be discharged from the Navy, Littler just turned professional.

[7] Kelley, Brent. "Gene Littler profile". About.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.

[8] Shain, Jeff (February 1, 2013). "AT&T Pebble Beach – First Look". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[9] White, Gordon S. (August 4, 1975). "Comeback Star of Pro Golf Tour". The New York Times.

[10] Wright, Alfred (May 14, 1962). "Loud Noise From the Quiet Man". Sports Illustrated.

[11] Strege, John (February 15, 2019). "Gene Littler, a U.S. Open champion and member of World Golf Hall of Fame, has died". Golf Digest.

[12] Goldstein, Richard (February 16, 2019). "Gene Littler, Golfer With a Gorgeous Swing, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.

[Trinkle-13] Trinkle, Jim (January 26, 1978). "On tour with Sandy". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 37. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] Barkow, Al (November 1989). The History of the PGA TOUR. Copyright PGA Tour. Doubleday. p. 264. ISBN 0-385-26145-4.

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