Willie Anderson

Who was Willie Anderson?

William Law Anderson was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who became the first golfer to win four U.S. Opens, with victories in 1901, 1903, 1904, and 1905. He is still the only man to win three consecutive titles, and only Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus have equalled his total of four championships. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Anderson was born in North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. He emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1896, along with his father, Thomas Anderson, and his brother Tom. He played in the U.S. Open the following year, finishing in second place by one stroke, after Joe Lloyd eagled the final hole.

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 in 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1909.

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 played many exhibition challenge matches for stakes, in addition to tournaments.