Clarence Hillman Robbins Jr. (April 22, 1932 – November 6, 1981) was an American professional golfer who is best known for his amateur career, including winning the 1957

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 ...

Early life

Robbins was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He was the son of Hillman Robbins Sr., a clerk at the Square-D liquor store, also located in Memphis, who was shot to death by paranoid lawyer Glenn Nash on December 6, 1966.

Amateur career

He played college golf at Memphis State College where he won the

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

in 1954. In 1957, while on leave from duty in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, he won the

The Country Club The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. (The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, was the first country club for any sport.) It holds an important place in ...

in Brookline, Massachusetts, beating Bud Taylor, 5 & 4. He won several other amateur tournaments and played on the 1957 Walker Cup team.

Professional career

Robbins turned professional in 1958 but did not enjoy as much success as he had as an amateur. He served as the club professional at Galloway Golf Course in Memphis from 1966 until his death in 1981. Robbins was inducted into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 1995.

Tournament wins

*1951

Western Junior The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...

*1953 Tennessee State Amateur, Southeastern Open *1954 Southern Intercollegiate,

, Arkansas Open *1955

Sunnehanna Amateur The Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is consider ...

, Southeastern Open *1956

North and South Amateur The North and South Men's Amateur Golf Championship, commonly known as the North and South Amateur, is an annual golf tournament held since 1901 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. An invitational tournament, participants are ...

, Air Force Championship *1957

, All-Services Tournament

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a 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, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

(winners) *

Americas Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

: 1956 (winners), 1958 (winners)

References

American male golfers Memphis Tigers men's golfers Golfers from Memphis, Tennessee 1932 births 1981 deaths {{US-golf-bio-stub