Clarence Hillman Robbins Jr. (April 22, 1932 – November 6, 1981) was an American
professional golfer who is best known for his amateur career, including winning the 1957
U.S. Amateur.
Early life
Robbins was born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. He was the son of Hillman Robbins Sr., a clerk at the Square-D liquor store, also located in Memphis, who was shot to death by paranoid lawyer Glenn Nash on December 6, 1966.
Amateur career
He played college golf at
Memphis State College where he won the
NCAA Championship in 1954. In 1957, while on leave from duty in the
Air Force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
, he won the
U.S. Amateur at
The Country Club in
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...
, beating
Bud Taylor, 5 & 4.
He won several other amateur tournaments and played on the
1957 Walker Cup
The 1957 Walker Cup, the 16th Walker Cup Match, was played on August 30 and 31, 1957, at the Minikahda Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The United States won by 8 matches to 3 with one match halved.
Format
Four 36-hole matches of foursomes were pla ...
team.
[
]
Professional career
Robbins turned professional in 1958 but did not enjoy as much success as he had as an amateur.
Tournament wins
*1951 Western Junior
*1953 Tennessee State Amateur,[ Southeastern Open][
*1954 Southern Intercollegiate,][ NCAA Championship, Arkansas Open][
*1955 Sunnehanna Amateur, Southeastern Open][
*1956 ]North and South Amateur
The North and South Men's Amateur Golf Championship, commonly known as the North and South Amateur, is an annual golf tournament held since 1901 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, US. An invitational tournament, participants ar ...
, Air Force Championship[
*1957 U.S. Amateur, All-Services Tournament][
]
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
* Walker Cup: 1957
Events January
* January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany.
* January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
* January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
(winners)
* Americas Cup: 1956 (winners), 1958 (winners)
References
American male golfers
Memphis Tigers men's golfers
Golfers from Memphis, Tennessee
1932 births
1981 deaths
20th-century American sportsmen
{{US-golf-bio-stub