William Irvine Hunter (January 29, 1892 – October 18, 1968) was a Scottish-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 ...

. He won the

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

title in 1921, and immigrated to the United States later that year. Hunter became a prominent figure in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

golf, winning several important titles, including six

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 ...

events, but played the Tour, such as it was at that time, only on an irregular basis, while holding down club jobs. He was the head professional at

Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...

near

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

from 1936 to 1964.

Early life

Willie Hunter was the son of Harry (Henry) Hunter, golf professional and course superintendent at the

Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is an 18-hole links golf course in southeastern England, in the town of Deal in the County of Kent (the course is often known simply as "Deal"). Founded in 1892, its name derives from Deal's membership of an ancient ...

, located on the

Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...

in the town of

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Harry Hunter had been hired by that Club when it was founded in 1892, and in addition to his golf professional duties, assisted in laying out and maintaining the golf course, starting a 50-year association with the Club. Willie Hunter was born in

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. History The village draws its name from its proximity to the Ashdo ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, but was "as Scotch as the heather at Troon".

Early career

He worked as a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator in

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...

. In 1920, the year his home club hosted

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 ...

, Willie Hunter ended as the leading amateur in that event, and made it to the final eight (quarterfinal round) of the

, held at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

. The next year, Hunter won that title, the oldest in amateur golf, at the

Royal Liverpool Golf Club The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of the Duke of ...

; this was considered a major championship at the time.

Emigration to the United States

Hunter traveled to the United States later that same year, to contest the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, being played at the

St. Louis Country Club St. Louis Country Club (SLCC) is a country club located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is recognized by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as one of the first 100 Clubs in America. Club history Founded in 1892 as a polo cl ...

, near

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. An article heralding his America arrival in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted his three-quarter swing, great skill with the mashie and putter, and composure during competition, all making up for his small physical stature. This was his second trip to the U.S.; he had played in the U.S. Open in 1920. Hunter defeated Bobby Jones during the 1921 U.S. Amateur, in the quarterfinal round, by 2 and 1 over the scheduled 36-hole match. Jones, just 19 years old at the time, would later become one of the all-time great players in golf history. Hunter lost the next day in the semifinals to former champion Robert A. Gardner.Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club - Club History - Lighthearted
/ref> Hunter decided to stay in the U.S. this time, and settled in southern

. He was suspended by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

from playing in amateur tournaments, because of his association with a golf goods importing company; this was against the rules at the time, but would likely be legal today. He qualified, through regional qualifying, into the match play portion (top 64) of the

1922 PGA Championship The 1922 PGA Championship was the fifth PGA Championship, held August 14–18 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. The match play field of 64 competitors qualified by sectional tournaments. This was ...

, but lost in the first round to Frank Sprogell 3 and 1. In early 1922, Hunter announced his intention of becoming an American citizen. He traveled extensively through the western U.S. and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, making connections and looking for the best job he could find. He took a job as club secretary at the Rancho Country Club, then just beginning as a private club, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and during his early period in the area, frequently partnered with top-class amateur

George Von Elm George "Gix" Von Elm (March 20, 1901 – May 1, 1961) was an American professional golfer most noted for his amateur career. He was selected by ''Golf Digest'' as Utah's greatest amateur golfer, and in the early 1960s was named Utah Golfer of ...

in interclub competition, representing Rancho. He may have assisted Max Behr in designing and building Rancho. Soon after being reinstated as an amateur by the USGA, Hunter won the 1923 Southern California Amateur title, and took a job as secretary of the newly formed Lakeside Golf Club, then being built on

Toluca Lake Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. Hunter, playing his golf at the Brentwood Club at the time, played in the match which formally opened Lakeside in 1924, and likely assisted Max Behr with the design of the course, which is regarded by many as Behr's best design work. In the

1923 PGA Championship The 1923 PGA Championship was the sixth PGA Championship, held September 24–29 in New York at Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor, Westchester County. The field of 64 qualified by sectional tournaments, and competed in six rounds of match pla ...

, he won his first-round match against

Al Watrous Albert Andrew Watrous (February 1, 1899 – December 3, 1983) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1920s and 1930s. Early life Born in Yonkers, New York, of Polish descent, Watrous moved to Michigan at an ear ...

2 and 1, but lost in the second round to

Johnny Farrell John Joseph Farrell (April 1, 1901 – June 14, 1988) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1928. Over the course of his career, he won 22 PGA Tour events. Early life Born in White Plains, New York, Farrell ...

4 and 3. By entering this event, he declared as a professional, and would retain this status for the rest of his career.

Later career

Hunter won six times on the

. These included 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 ...

in 1926 and 1927. In 1936 he won the Catalina Open, as well as the San Francisco Match Play, held at the golf club at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. He became the head professional at the elite

, one of the world's top courses, in 1936, and held that position until 1964, when he retired. His son, Mac Hunter, then took over that job until 1973. Willie Hunter saved the Riviera course from severe flooding in 1939, and helped rescue the club from bankruptcy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

U.S. Open

Hunter competed in 12 U.S. Opens between 1920 and 1938, making the 36-hole cut each time. He played in 1920, 1922, 1925–30, 1934–36, and 1938. His best finish, and only top-10 result, came in 1926 at

Scioto Country Club Scioto Country Club, is a private country club and golf course in the central United States, located in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Columbus. It hosted the U.S. Senior Open in August 2016. History Designed by Donald Ross, the ...

, when he shot 75-77-69-79 for a 300 total, good for eighth place. He was awarded an honorary membership by the

Death

Hunter died on October 18, 1968 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 land a ...

Amateur wins (2)

:''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1921 (1)

*1923 (1) Southern California Amateur

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (6)

*1926 (1)

*1927 (1)

*1934 (1) Southern California Open Championship *1936 (2)

San Francisco National Match Play Open The San Francisco Open was a golf tournament played in the San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern Califo ...

, Catalina Open *''missing one other win (before 1930)''

Other wins (2)

:''Note: This list may be incomplete.'' *1939

Southern California PGA Championship The Southern California PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the championship of the Southern California section of the PGA of America. The Southern California section was formed in 1924, and the tournament was first played that year. It ...

*1942

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Hunter 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 ...

.''
LA = Low amateur
NT = no tournament
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 *Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, British Open, PGA Championship, 1920 British Amateur, 1921 British Amateur, 1922 British AmateurThe American Golfer, July 1, 1922, pg. 31.
/ref>

Team appearances

Amateur *

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1902 to 1931, although the match lapsed between 1913 and 1921. The match continued after 1931 but ...

(representing Scotland): 1922 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Willie Scottish male golfers American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Los Angeles People from Forest Row British emigrants to the United States 1892 births 1968 deaths