William Law Anderson (21 October 1879 – 25 October 1910) was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who became the first golfer to win four U.S. Opens, with victories in 1901, 1903, 1904, and 1905. He is still the only man to win three consecutive titles, and only Bobby Jones,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

, and

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

have equalled his total of four championships. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, Anderson was educated at the public school in North Berwick and was a licensed caddie on the West Links at the age of 11. Upon leaving school, he apprenticed as a club maker under Alex Aitken in Gullane. At age 18, Anderson emigrated from Scotland to the United States in March 1896—sailing aboard the S.S. ''Poseidon'' from Glasgow—along with his father, Thomas Anderson, and his brother Tom, landing at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

. He played in the U.S. Open the following year, finishing in second place by one stroke, after Joe Lloyd eagled the final hole.

Golf career

His first significant win came in 1899 at the Southern California Open before he started his run at the U.S. Open. In the 14 straight Opens that he played, Anderson won four, was second once, third once, fourth twice, fifth three times, 11th twice and 15th once. He won titles with both the old gutta-percha golf ball, and the rubber-cored ball which came into use in 1902. Anderson also won the

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

in 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1909; this tournament, the second-oldest in the U.S., was classified as a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

event for most of its more than 100 years of operation, and is classified by some golf historians as a major championship during Anderson's era. Anderson's accuracy with all clubs, combined with his concentration under pressure, made him a formidable and highly respected competitor. Anderson made his living as a golf professional, working at ten different clubs in fourteen years. He listed the Apawamis Club in

Rye, New York Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the most recent such charter in the state. Its area of ...

as his home course from 1901 through 1906. He played many exhibition challenge matches for stakes, in addition to tournaments.''The U.S. Open: Golf's Ultimate Challenge'', second edition, by Robert Sommers, 1995.

Death and legacy

Anderson died at age 31, officially from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia Chestnut Hill is a neighbourhood, neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools. G ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He had played competitive matches in

right up to a few days before his death. However, golf historian Robert Sommers wrote in 1995 that Anderson "drank himself to death." Anderson is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Awards and honors

Anderson was an original member of the PGA Hall of Fame and in 1975 he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame

Major championships

Wins (4)

¹ Defeated Alex Smith in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (85), Smith (86)
² Defeated David Brown in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (82), Brown (84)

Results timeline

Among the majors, Anderson played in only the U.S. Open. "T" indicates a tie for a place

Professional wins (9)

''Note'': ''this list may be incomplete'' *1899 Southern California Open *1901 U.S. Open *1902

*1903 U.S. Open *1904 Western Open, U.S. Open *1905 U.S. Open *1908 Western Open *1909 Western Open

References

External links

* *
Willie Anderson – The Forgotten Superstar of Golf
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Willie Scottish male golfers American male golfers Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Scottish emigrants to the United States Golfers from North Berwick Golfers from Philadelphia Neurological disease deaths in Pennsylvania Deaths from epilepsy People with epilepsy Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) 1879 births 1910 deaths