Born:
1910 in Newport, Rhode Island
Died:
1968
Nickname:
Cannonball
Tour Victories:
7
Major Championships:
Professional: 1
• 1940 U.S. Open
Amateur: 4
• U.S. Amateur: 1934, 1935
• British Amateur: 1934, 1935
Awards and Honors:
• Memmber, World Golf Hall of Fame
• Named to one Walker Cup team
Quote, Unquote:
• Lawson Little: "I say this without any reservations whatsoever: It is impossible to outplay an opponent you can't outthink."
• Journalist Charles Price: "Lawson Little was the greatest match player in the history of golf."
• Jack Burke Jr.: "He (Little) never practiced. Little either had it that week or he didn't. But when he did have it, it was lights out."
Lawson Little Biography:
Lawson Little was one of the greatest amateur golfers of all Americans, and one of the greatest match-play golfers of all-time.
In 1934, he won the "Little Slam" - both the U.S. and British Amateurs. In 1935, he did it again, the only man to win both events in back-to-back years. Along the way, he won 32 consecutive matches. At the 1934 British Amateur, Little defeated his championship match opponent, James Wallace, 14-and-13 (36 holes).
Little turned pro in 1936, and although he won 7 times, including the 1936 Canadian Open and the 1940 U.S. Open, he never quite lived up to the expectations he set for himself as an amateur.
Little's nickname was "Cannonball," a reference to both his appearance and personality. He stood 5-foot-9 but was a muscular, barrel-chested man whose temper sometimes got the best of him on the golf course, and whose reputation for being surly grew over time. He was a long driver who also had great touch in the short game, but whose irons always gave him trouble.
While "Lawson Little" is no longer a household name among golf fans, Little continues to have an impact on golf many, many years after his death. All golfers know that the rules limit you to 14 clubs in your bag.
That rule was added to the game in 1938 as a result of the habit of some golfers - chief among them Little - for carrying large numbers of clubs. Little was an expert short-game practitioner and sometimes carried as many as seven wedges alone. He was known to carry as many as 26 clubs total during some rounds.
Lawson Little was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980.
