William Law Anderson (21 October 1879 – 25 October 1910) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrant to the United States who became the first golfer to win four U.S. Opens, with victories in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, and

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

. He is still the only man to win three consecutive titles, and only Bobby Jones,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...

, and

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

have equalled his total of four championships. He 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 go ...

Early life

Born in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Anderson was educated at the public school in North Berwick and was a licensed caddie on the West Links at the age of 11. Upon leaving school, he apprenticed as a club maker under Alex Aitken in

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelft ...

. At age 18, Anderson

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

d from Scotland to the United States in March 1896—sailing aboard the S.S. ''Poseidon'' from Glasgow—along with his father, Thomas Anderson, and his brother

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, landing at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

. He played in the U.S. Open the following year, finishing in second place by one stroke, after

Joe Lloyd Joseph Lloyd (1864–19??) was an English professional golfer who won the third U.S. Open at the Chicago Golf Club in 1897. Early life Lloyd grew up playing at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake. He was an expert at making and repairing club ...

eagled the final hole.

Golf career

His first significant win came in 1899 at the Southern California Open, before he started his run at the U.S. Open. In the 14 straight Opens that he played, Anderson won four, was second once, third once, fourth twice, fifth three times, 11th twice and 15th once. He won titles with both the old gutta-percha golf ball, and the rubber-cored ball which came into use in 1902. Anderson also won the

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 ...

in 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1909; this tournament, the second-oldest in the U.S., was classified as a

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 ...

event for most of its more than 100 years of operation, and is classified by some golf historians as a major championship during Anderson's era. Anderson's accuracy with all clubs, combined with his concentration under pressure, made him a formidable and highly respected competitor. Anderson made his living as a golf professional, working at ten different clubs in fourteen years. He listed the

Apawamis Club The Apawamis Club is a private country club located in Rye, New York, Westchester County, long known for its 18-hole golf course and prominence in the sport of squash. The 1911 U.S. Amateur Championship was contested here, resulting in a playoff ...

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

as his home course from 1901 through 1906. He played many exhibition challenge matches for stakes, in addition to tournaments.''The U.S. Open: Golf's Ultimate Challenge'', second edition, by Robert Sommers, 1995.

Death and legacy

Anderson died at age 31, officially from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools. Geography Boundaries Chestnut Hi ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He had played competitive matches in

right up to a few days before his death. However, golf historian Robert Sommers wrote in 1995 that Anderson 'drank himself to death'. Anderson is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Anderson was an original member of the PGA Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the

in 1975.

Major championships

Wins (4)

¹ Defeated Alex Smith in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (85), Smith (86)
² Defeated David Brown in an 18-hole playoff: Anderson (82), Brown (84)

Results timeline

Among the majors, Anderson played in only the U.S. Open. "T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Other victories

(Note: this list may be incomplete) *1899 Southern California Open *1902

*1904 Western Open *1908 Western Open *1909 Western Open

References

External links

*
Willie Anderson – The Forgotten Superstar of Golf
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Willie Scottish male golfers American male golfers Winners of men's major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Scottish emigrants to the United States Golfers from North Berwick Golfers from Philadelphia Neurological disease deaths in Pennsylvania Deaths from epilepsy Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) 1879 births 1910 deaths