Gene Littler


Gene Alec Littler was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth rhythmical swing, 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. 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, and after that served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 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. In 1959 after taking advice he received from Paul Runyan and adjusting his grip, 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, 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 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.
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.

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. Littler died at the age of 88 on February 15, 2019.

Professional wins (54)

PGA Tour wins (29)

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

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11955Labatt Open Stan LeonardWon with par on first extra hole
21956Texas International Open Cary Middlecoff, Peter ThomsonThomson won with birdie on second extra hole
31957Western Open George Bayer, Doug Ford,
Billy Maxwell		Ford won with par on third extra hole
Littler and Maxwell eliminated with par on first hole
41960Memphis Open Invitational Tommy Bolt, Ben HoganBolt won 18-hole playoff;
Bolt: −2,
Hogan: −1,
Littler: +1
51962Memphis Open Invitational Lionel Hebert, Gary PlayerHebert won with birdie on first extra hole
61966Tucson Open Joe CampbellLost to birdie on first extra hole
71969Greater Greensboro Open Julius Boros, Orville Moody,
Tom Weiskopf		Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Weiskopf eliminated with par on first hole
81970Masters Tournament Billy CasperLost 18-hole playoff;
Casper: −3,
Littler: +2
91975Westchester Classic Julius BorosWon with par on first extra hole
101977Tucson Open Bruce LietzkeLost to birdie on fourth extra hole
111977PGA Championship Lanny WadkinsLost to par on third extra hole

Source:

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11980Australian Masters Rodger DavisWon with bogey on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

this list may be incomplete
Senior PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11981Peter Jackson Champions Miller BarberLost to par on first extra hole
21986Greater Grand Rapids Open Jim Ferree, Chi-Chi RodríguezFerree won with birdie on first extra hole
31986Bank One Senior Golf Classic Miller Barber, Bob GoalbyWon with par on third extra hole
Goalby eliminated with par on first hole

Japan Senior Tour wins (2)

Wins (1)

Amateur wins (1)

Results timeline

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:

Summary

Amateur
Professional