Edward Wallace Neal Loos (July 31, 1893 – July 9, 1950) 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 ...

who played in the early-to-mid 20th century. His best performance in a major golf championship was a T10 finish in the 1924 U.S. Open. He won the 1917 Shawnee Open, the 1921 California State Open, and the

Illinois PGA Championship The Illinois PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is conducted by the Illinois PGA (Professional Golfers' Association). The 54-hole, stroke play Championship conducted over three days is the premier member event on the Illinois PGA calendar ...

in 1922 and 1924. Loos was a frequent competitor in the

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 ...

, last playing in 1935. He had 13 second-place finishes on the

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 ...

after 1915.

Early life

Loos was born July 31, 1893, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He first played golf and also worked as a caddy at the Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

as a teenager.

Golf career

A tall blonde-haired man, Loos was a good putter—seldom three-putting a green—and was sometimes called "Two-Putt Eddie" by the press and fellow players during his playing career. He was the head professional at the

Philadelphia Cricket Club The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania. History Founded on February 10, 1854, the Philadelphia Cricket ...

in late 1916, taking over for Alex Duncan who left to take a job at the

Chicago Golf Club Chicago Golf Club is a private golf club in the central United States, located in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. The oldest 18-hole course in North America, it was one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association ...

. In 1918 he left the cricket club to join the navy and after the war played exhibition matches with

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

before moving to Chicago where he was hired at

Beverly Country Club The Beverly Country Club, located in the American city of Chicago, Illinois, is one of Chicago's historical cornerstones. The club was founded in 1908 and initially designed by George O'Neil, also the club's first professional golfer. Shortly after ...

. He also worked at a number of other different clubs, including

Atlantic City Country Club The Atlantic City Country Club is a golf club located in Northfield, New Jersey, west of Atlantic City. In addition to a golf course, the club offers banquet and dining facilities. The course resides on in a coastal setting with skyline views of ...

, Riverton Country Club, Pocono Manor Country Club, Ravisloe Country Club, and Charlotte Country Club. While posted as professional at Pasadena Country Club in March 1921, he won the

California State Open The California State Open is the California state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Southern California section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1900 and has been played at a var ...

beating John Black and

Macdonald Smith Macdonald "Mac" Smith (March 18, 1890 – August 31, 1949) was one of the top professional golfers in the world from about 1910 into the mid-1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family. Smith is regarded, based on his results, as on ...

by 3 and 4 shots, respectively. In the winter in the mid-1920s he worked as professional at the Cleveland Heights Country Club in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. In August 1917 Loos won the

Shawnee Open The Shawnee Open is a golf tournament that was first held in 1912. It is played at The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The couse was completed in 1911, the first ever design by renowned architect A. ...

with rounds of 69-74-75-72=290 (+2) beating runner-up

Emmett French John Emmet French (November 22, 1886 – June 10, 1947) was an American professional golfer, who is notable for losing to Gene Sarazen in the 1922 PGA Championship. French was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. French, being a tall man, was a go ...

by seven strokes and won $250—plus $25 for the tournament's low round—and a gold medal.

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...

was third on 298. In September 1917 Loos continued his good play by winning a 36-hole tournament held at Westmoreland Country Club near Chicago. He shot 146 and nipped Bob MacDonald who was a single shot back at 147. In March 1918, Loos came second behind Jim Barnes in the

Florida Open The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the ...

. Loos finished sixth in the 1920 Western Open, and in 1922 won the Illinois PGA Championship at Lake Shore Golf Club in Glencoe, Illinois, beating

Jock Hutchison Jack Falls "Jock" Hutchison (June 6, 1884 – September 27, 1977) was a Scottish professional golfer. Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the son of William and Helen (née Falls). His name was registered as John Waters Hutchis ...

. He won the same event again in 1924 at Glen Flora Country Club in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, battling rain and high winds in the process. On July 20, 1919, Loos partnered with Jim Barnes in a

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 ...

event contested at the Donald Ross-designed Beverly Country Club course in Chicago against Jock Hutchison and Bob MacDonald. Loos, playing on what was at the time his home course, shot a 68 after getting off to a slow start. The other cards were: Barnes (73); MacDonald (72); Hutchison (73). Loos and Barnes won the match 4 and 3. Loos had some bad luck in the 1931

Los Angeles Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...

. Playing the 71st hole with victory within his grasp, he played a shot from the rough that settled a mere two inches from the hole. As he was preparing to tap in, he looked down and to his chagrin noticed the name "

" stenciled on the ball. He had improperly played Hagen's ball instead of his own and was assessed a two-stroke penalty that gave the title to

Ed Dudley Edward Bishop Dudley (February 19, 1901 – October 25, 1963) was an American professional golfer active in the late 1920s and 1930s. He was given the nickname of "Big Ed" in acknowledgment of his frame. Biography Born in Brunswick, Georgia, ...

. Dudley, however, didn't necessarily win because someone else lost—he shot a 68 in the final round, the best score of the day.

Death

Loos died on July 9, 1950, in

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservat ...

. He was found dead in the bathtub of his home. The body was discovered by a neighbor, Dave Topkins. Illness had forced his retirement from golf in 1943.

Family

His son, Charles H. "Chuck" Loos (died 2015), was a former managing editor of the ''

Daily Pilot The ''Daily Pilot'' is a daily newspaper published by the ''Los Angeles Times'' to serve the communities of Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. The ''Daily Pi ...

'' (formerly the ''Orange Coast Daily Pilot'') newspaper.

Tournament wins

PGA Tour wins (3)

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

*1922

*1923 Southern California Open Source:

Other wins (5)

''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1917 Westmoreland Country Club Tournament *1921

Northern California Open The Northern California Open is a golf tournament played in the Northern California, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is run by the Northern California section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1920 at a var ...

*1923 St. Joseph Tournament *1924

Results in major championships

''Note: Loos never played in the

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 maj ...

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.'' DNP = Did not play
? = Unknown
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loos, Eddie American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from New York (state) Sportspeople from New York City 1893 births 1950 deaths