Paul Scott Runyan (July 12, 1908 – March 17, 2002) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Among the world's best players in the mid-1930s, he won two

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

s, and is a member of the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 g ...

. Runyan was also a golf instructor.

Early life

Born in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is ...

, Runyan started out as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with th ...

and then an apprentice at a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The ...

in his hometown, before turning pro at age 17. He was head professional at a

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

club by age 18. Runyan served as head pro at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, New York from 1931 to 1943 during which time he won both of his PGA championships.

Tour winner

Three years later, Runyan defeated Wood in extra holes in the title match of the 1934 PGA Championship, the first of his two

s. Of Runyan's 29 career

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

wins, 16 of them came in 1933 and 1934, and his nine wins in 1933 make him one of only seven golfers to win nine or more times in one year on the PGA Tour. In the first

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

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 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

, he was paired for the first 36 holes with tournament host

Bobby Jones Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a const ...

. Runyan won the tour money title in 1934, and was a member of the U.S.

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

and

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...

. Runyan was competitive for many years; he won the PGA Championship again in 1938 and led the U.S. Open after three rounds as late as

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

. In the finals of his 1938 PGA, Runyan defeated

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four ...

8 and 7, the most lopsided title match ever in the event, conducted as match play through

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

. This was despite Snead's vastly greater length off the tee, as much as per hole. Fellow golfers nicknamed him "Little Poison" (a take on 1930s baseball player

Lloyd Waner Lloyd James Waner (March 16, 1906 – July 22, 1982), nicknamed "Little Poison", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. His small stature at and 132 lb (68 kg)

, who had the same nickname), primarily because he did not drive the ball very far, but also because he had a terrific short game. Runyan had worked tirelessly on his short game from boyhood, since he realized early on if he were to succeed in golf, he had to compensate for his lack of length. Runyan opined that he is the smallest player in golf history who had significant success, although

Fred McLeod Fred McLeod may refer to: * Fred McLeod (golfer) * Fred McLeod (sportscaster) Fred D. McLeod III (September 1, 1952 – September 9, 2019) was an American sportscaster who served as the executive producer of multimedia, and television play-by-pla ...

had a fine record, too, and stood only and weighed a paltry .

Master teacher

Runyan's teaching prowess led many top pros to him over his 75 years of teaching, including

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) 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 ...

, Phil Rodgers, Chuck Courtney, Frank Beard,

Jim Ferree Purvis Jennings "Jim" Ferree (born June 10, 1931) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Born in Pinebluff, North Carolina, Ferree grew up in Winston-Salem and graduated from Reynolds High Scho ...

and

Mickey Wright Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright (February 14, 1935 – February 17, 2020) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won 82 LPGA Tour career events including 13 major champions ...

. ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the worl ...

'' wrote: "... since the late 1930s, he has probably been the most influential short game instructor. Untold thousands have been taught his methods for putting and chipping." Runyan wrote an influential book outlining his short-game methods, ''The Short Way to Lower Scoring''. He appears as a contestant on the 25th October 1950 edition of

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy Game show, quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. Th ...

where he tells an anecdote of hitting a spectator with his ball and in another competition his partner hits the same man. In 2000, he completed the annual Par 3 competition held one day before the Masters at the age of 91. He died in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

Honors

Runyan was inducted into the

in 1990. In addition, he is a member of the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Hall of Fame and The Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame. He received the Harvey Penick Lifetime Teaching Award and the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

Distinguished Service Award.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (29)

*1930 (2)

North and South Open The North and South Open was one of the most prestigious professional golf tournaments in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. It was played at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, long the largest golf resort in the world, ...

, New Jersey Open *1931 (2) Metropolitan PGA, Westchester Open *1932 (1) Gasparilla Open Match Play *1933 (9) Agua Caliente Open, Miami Biltmore Open (March), Virginia Beach Cavalier Open, Eastern Open Championship, National Capital Open, Mid-South Pro-Pro (with Willie Macfarlane), Mid-South Open (tie with Willie Macfarlane and

Joe Turnesa Joseph R. Turnesa (January 31, 1901 – July 15, 1991) was an American professional golfer. Early life Turnesa was born in New York, New York. He was one of seven famous golfing brothers: Phil (1896–1987), Frank (1898–1949), Joe (1901–1 ...

), Miami International Four-Ball (with

Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments. Tournament career Born in Springfield, Missouri, Smith turned professional in 1926 and w ...

Pasadena Open The Pasadena Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1929 to 1938, held at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, California. Winners *1938 (Jan.) Henry Picard *1936–37 ''No tournament'' *1935 (Dec.) Horton Smith (2) *1934 Harold "Jug" ...

*1934 (6) St. Petersburg Open, Florida West Coast Open,

Tournament of the Gardens Open The Tournament of the Gardens Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1933 to 1937. It was held at the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, which in 2019 hosted the U.S. Women's Open. Winners *1937 Henry Picard *19 ...

, The Cavalier Open,

Metropolitan Open The Metropolitan Open is a golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. In the early 20th century it was one of the top events in the country and was retroactively given PGA Tour-level status. History The tournament has been ...

*1935 (4)

, Grand Slam Open, Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA *1936 (2) Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA *1938 (1)

*1939 (1) Westchester Open *1941 (1) Goodall Round Robin Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1934 Westchester Open *1938

Argentine Open The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...

*1942 Westchester Open *1947 Southern California PGA Championship

Senior wins

*1961

PGA Seniors' Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

, World Senior Championship *1962

, World Senior Championship

Major championships

Wins (2)

''Note: The PGA Championship was

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

through

Results timeline

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
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 – 33 (1933 PGA – 1952 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (1934 PGA – 1936 U.S. Open)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Runyan, Paul American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees American golf instructors Golf writers and broadcasters Golfers from Arkansas Golfers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Hot Springs, Arkansas 1908 births 2002 deaths