William Earl Mehlhorn (December 2, 1898 – April 5, 1989) was an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er who played on the

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 ...

in its early days, and was at his best in the 1920s. Mehlhorn was born in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

and lived a majority of his life in Seaford, New York when not traveling. He often wore cowboy hats on the course and was nicknamed "Wild Bill." He won 19 times on the PGA Tour, but did not win a major championship. Only a handful of golfers have won more often on the PGA Tour without claiming a major. He finished 14 times in the top-10 at majors. His best finish was runner-up to Walter Hagen at the PGA Championship in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. Mehlhorn competed on the first Ryder Cup team in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

as well as the inaugural Masters Tournament in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. He was a gallery favorite because of his uncanny accuracy from tee to green, but his game was undermined by problems with putting: the yips. Mehlhorn also designed and plotted several golf courses across the country, including

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

's Osceola Golf Course. Mehlhorn retired and moved to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

with his family, where he coached golf at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

with Bob Shave during his later years. Mehlhorn and Shave wrote the book, ''Golf Secrets Exposed'', in the early 1980s to summarize Mehlhorn's golf secrets and insight. Two versions of the book have been published since Mehlhorn's death.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (19)

*1923 (1) Oklahoma Open *1924 (1)

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 ...

*1926 (5) Long Beach Open, South Central Open, South Florida Open Championship, Santa Clara Valley Open, San Jose Open *1927 (1) San Jose Open *1928 (6) Long Beach Open (January; tie with

Leo Diegel Leo Harvey Diegel (April 20, 1899 – May 5, 1951) was an American professional golfer of the 1920s and early 1930s. He captured consecutive PGA Championships, played on the first four Ryder Cup teams, and is a member of the World Golf Hall o ...

), Texas Open, Richmond Open, Montauk Open, Westchester Open, Hawaiian Open *1929 (4) El Paso Open, Texas Open, South Central Open, Metropolitan Open *1930 (1) La Gorce Open Source:

Other wins

*1924 Miami International Four-Ball (with Macdonald Smith) *1926 Miami International Four-Ball (with Macdonald Smith)

Results in major championships

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1919 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1925 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open)

References

External links

Golf with Mehlhorn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehlhorn, Bill American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Illinois Golfers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Elgin, Illinois People from Seaford, New York 1898 births 1989 deaths