William Earl Mehlhorn (December 2, 1898 – April 5, 1989) was an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er who played 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 ...

in its early days, and was at his best in the 1920s. Mehlhorn was born in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

and lived a majority of his life in

Seaford, New York Seaford is a township in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of whic ...

when not traveling. He often wore cowboy hats on the course and was nicknamed "Wild Bill." He won 19 times on the PGA Tour, but did not win a major championship. Only a handful of golfers have won more often on the PGA Tour without claiming a major. He finished 14 times in the top-10 at majors. His best finish was runner-up to

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 ...

at 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 ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

. Mehlhorn competed on the first

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

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

as well as the inaugural

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 ...

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 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. He was a gallery favorite because of his uncanny accuracy from tee to green, but his game was undermined by problems with putting: the yips. Mehlhorn also designed and plotted several golf courses across the country, including

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

's Osceola Golf Course. Mehlhorn retired and moved to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

with his family, where he coached golf at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

with

Bob Shave Robert James Shave Jr. (born c.1936) is an American professional golfer. Shave was born in Willoughby, Ohio. He played college golf at Florida State University, where he was a 2nd-Team All-American. He played on the PGA Tour for six years, and ...

during his later years. Mehlhorn and Shave wrote the book, ''Golf Secrets Exposed'', in the early 1980s to summarize Mehlhorn's golf secrets and insight. Two versions of the book have been published since Mehlhorn's death.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (19)

*1923 (1)

Oklahoma Open The Oklahoma Open is the Oklahoma state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Oklahoma Golf Association. It has been played every year since 1910 at a variety of courses around the state. It was ...

*1924 (1)

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 ...

*1926 (5) Long Beach Open, South Central Open, South Florida Open Championship, Santa Clara Valley Open, San Jose Open *1927 (1) San Jose Open *1928 (6) Long Beach Open (January; tie with Leo Diegel),

Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

, Richmond Open, Montauk Open, Westchester Open,

Hawaiian Open The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian O ...

*1929 (4)

El Paso Open The El Paso Open was a golf tournament on the Ben Hogan Tour. It ran from 1990 to 1991. It was played at Coronado Country Club in El Paso, Texas. In 1991 the winner earned $25,000. Winners

Former Korn Ferry Tour events Golf in Texas Sp ...

, South Central Open, Metropolitan Open *1930 (1)

La Gorce Open The La Gorce Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1928 to 1931. It was held at the La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach, Florida. Winners *1931 Gene Sarazen *1930 Bill Mehlhorn *1929 Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – Oct ...

Source:

Other wins

*1924

Miami International Four-Ball The Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida. It was also played at the Miami Biltmore Golf Course in Co ...

(with

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 ...

) *1926

(with

)

Results in major championships

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
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 – 13 (1919 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1925 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open)

References

External links

Golf with Mehlhorn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehlhorn, Bill American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Illinois Golfers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Elgin, Illinois People from Seaford, New York 1898 births 1989 deaths