Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, He played on the 1953 United States Walker Cup team, and won the U.S. Amateur and the California State Amateur that same year. a rare achievement which was not to be repeated until Doug Sanders won the Canadian Open in 1956. Littler is one of only very few players who won both a U.S. national junior tournament (he won the 1948 U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska) and the U.S. Amateur.
Littler graduated from San Diego State University, and after that served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1954.
Professional career
thumb|upright=1.2|Gene Littler with family in 1956
An early highlight of Littler's professional playing career was a second-place finish at the 1954 U.S. Open. He finished one shot behind Ed Furgol.
In 1955, he won four times on the tour, but fell into a slump in the late 1950s after tinkering with his swing. In 1959 after taking advice he received from Paul Runyan and adjusting his grip, he recovered to have his best year with five PGA Tour victories. He finished second on the money list that year, which was to remain his career best. Only once from 1954 to 1979 did Littler finish out of the top 60 on the final money list. He was stricken with melanoma cancer found in a lymph node under his left arm in 1972,
Littler won one major championship – the 1961 U.S. Open. He shot a 68 in the final round to overtake Doug Sanders. He accumulated 17 top-10 finishes in the three U.S.-based majors: seven at the Masters Tournament, five at the PGA Championship, and five at the U.S. Open. In addition to his U.S. Open victory, he had one second-place finish in each of the three U.S. majors, losing playoffs to Billy Casper at the 1970 Masters and to Lanny Wadkins at the 1977 PGA Championship. The latter was the first-ever sudden-death playoff in a major. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup teams of 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1975, and had a 14-5-8 win/loss/tie record including five wins and three ties in 10 singles matches.
After he turned 50, Littler also played on the Senior PGA Tour, winning eight times.
Personal life
On January 5, 1951, ten days before joining the Navy, Littler married Shirley Warren, his university classmate. They had a son, Curt, born in March 1954 and a daughter, Suzanne, born in October 1957.
Littler died at the age of 88 on February 15, 2019.
Awards and honors
- In 1973, Littler was bestowed the Ben Hogan Award, given to a golfer for a courageous comeback from injury or illness. Littler earned this after returning to the tour following treatment for melanoma.
- In 1973, he was honored with the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
- In 1990, Littler was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Professional wins (54)
PGA Tour wins (29)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! Legend
|- style="background:#e5d1cb;"
| Major championships (1)
|-
| Other PGA Tour (28)
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runner(s)-up
|-
|align=center|1
|align=right|Jan 21, 1954
|San Diego Open<br>(as an amateur)
|−14 (67-66-69-72=274)
|4 strokes
| Dutch Harrison
|-
|align=center|2
|align=right|Jan 9, 1955
|Los Angeles Open
|−8 (72-67-68-69=276)
|2 strokes
| Ted Kroll
|-
|align=center|3
|align=right|Feb 6, 1955
|Phoenix Open
|−5 (66-70-68-71=275)
|1 stroke
| Billy Maxwell, Arnold Palmer
|-
|align=center|4
|align=right|May 1, 1955
|Tournament of Champions
|−8 (69-71-68-72=280)
|13 strokes
| Jerry Barber, Pete Cooper,<br> Bob Toski
|-
|align=center|5
|align=right|Aug 28, 1955
|Labatt Open
|−8 (67-69-68-68=272)
|Playoff
| Stan Leonard
|-
|align=center|6
|align=right|Feb 19, 1956
|Texas Open Invitational
|−12 (68-73-70-65=276)
|2 strokes
| Mike Fetchick, Frank Stranahan,<br> Ernie Vossler
|-
|align=center|7
|align=right|Apr 29, 1956
|Tournament of Champions (2)
|−7 (70-71-69-71=281)
|4 strokes
| Cary Middlecoff
|-
|align=center|8
|align=right|Jun 10, 1956
|Palm Beach Round Robin
| +55 pts (69-69-68-68-70=344)
|24 points
| Ted Kroll
|-
|align=center|9
|align=right|Apr 21, 1957
|Tournament of Champions (3)
|−3 (73-73-69-70=285)
|3 strokes
| Billy Casper, Jimmy Demaret,<br> Dow Finsterwald, Billy Maxwell
|-
|align=center|10
|align=right|Feb 8, 1959
|Phoenix Open Invitational (2)
|−12 (67-63-67-71=268)
|1 stroke
| Art Wall Jr.
|-
|align=center|11
|align=right|Feb 15, 1959
|Tucson Open Invitational
|−14 (65-67-68-66=266)
|1 stroke
| Joe Campbell, Art Wall Jr.
|-
|align=center|12
|align=right|May 17, 1959
|Arlington Hotel Open
|−18 (67-69-64-70=270)
|1 stroke
| Jim Ferree
|-
|align=center|13
|align=right|Jul 19, 1959
|Insurance City Open Invitational
|−12 (64-66-72-70=272)
|1 stroke
| Tom Nieporte
|-
|align=center|14
|align=right|Aug 30, 1959
|Miller Open Invitational
|−15 (68-66-64-67=265)
|1 stroke
| Bob Rosburg, Bo Wininger
|-
|align=center|15
|align=right|Jun 12, 1960
|Oklahoma City Open Invitational
|−11 (71-64-70-68=273)
|1 stroke
| Art Wall Jr.
|-
|align=center|16
|align=right|Jul 31, 1960
|Eastern Open Invitational
|−15 (65-68-73-67=273)
|2 strokes
| Gary Player
|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|align=center|17
|align=right|Jun 17, 1961
|U.S. Open
| +1 (73-68-72-68=281)
|1 stroke
| Bob Goalby, Doug Sanders
|-
|align=center|18
|align=right|Jan 28, 1962
|Lucky International Open
|−10 (65-68-68-73=274)
|2 strokes
| George Knudson
|-
|align=center|19
|align=right|Jun 10, 1962
|Thunderbird Classic Invitational
|−13 (67-71-70-67=275)
|2 strokes
| Jack Nicklaus
|-
|align=center|20
|align=right|Jul 17, 1965
|Canadian Open
|−7 (70-68-69-66=273)
|1 stroke
| Jack Nicklaus
|-
|align=center|21
|align=right|Feb 16, 1969
|Phoenix Open Invitational (3)
|−21 (69-66-62-66=263)
|2 strokes
| Miller Barber, Don January,<br> Billy Maxwell
|-
|align=center|22
|align=right|Apr 6, 1969
|Greater Greensboro Open
|−10 (66-70-69-69=274)
|Playoff
| Julius Boros, Orville Moody,<br> Tom Weiskopf
|-
|align=center|23
|align=right|Apr 18, 1971
|Monsanto Open
|−8 (71-67-71-67=276)
|3 strokes
| George Archer, Pete Brown
|-
|align=center|24
|align=right|May 23, 1971
|Colonial National Invitation
| +3 (72-68-74-69=283)
|1 stroke
| Bert Yancey
|-
|align=center|25
|align=right|Jul 22, 1973
|St. Louis Children's Hospital Golf Classic
|−12 (66-66-68-68=268)
|1 stroke
| Bruce Crampton
|-
|align=center|26
|align=right|Jan 26, 1975
|Bing Crosby National Pro-Am
|−8 (68-71-68-73=280)
|4 strokes
| Hubert Green
|-
|align=center|27
|align=right|May 25, 1975
|Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
|−18 (67-68-69-66=270)
|5 strokes
| John Mahaffey
|-
|align=center|28
|align=right|Aug 3, 1975
|Westchester Classic
|−17 (68-68-69-66=271)
|Playoff
| Julius Boros
|-
|align=center|29
|align=right|May 1, 1977
|Houston Open
|−12 (70-65-67-74=276)
|3 strokes
| Lanny Wadkins
|}
PGA Tour playoff record (3–8)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result
|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|1
|1955
|Labatt Open
| Stan Leonard
|Won with par on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|2
|1956
|Texas International Open
| Cary Middlecoff, Peter Thomson
|Thomson won with birdie on second extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|3
|1957
|Western Open
| George Bayer, Doug Ford,<br> Billy Maxwell
|Ford won with par on third extra hole<br>Littler and Maxwell eliminated by par on first hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|4
|1960
|Memphis Open Invitational
| Tommy Bolt, Ben Hogan
|Bolt won 18-hole playoff;<br>Bolt: −2 (68),<br>Hogan: −1 (69),<br>Littler: +1 (71)
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|5
|1962
|Memphis Open Invitational
| Lionel Hebert, Gary Player
|Hebert won with birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|6
|1966
|Tucson Open
| Joe Campbell
|Lost to birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|7
|1969
|Greater Greensboro Open
| Julius Boros, Orville Moody,<br> Tom Weiskopf
|Won with birdie on fifth extra hole<br>Weiskopf eliminated by par on first hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|8
|1970
|Masters Tournament
| Billy Casper
|Lost 18-hole playoff;<br>Casper: −3 (69),<br>Littler: +2 (74)
|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|9
|1975
|Westchester Classic
| Julius Boros
|Won with par on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|10
|1977
|Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open
| Bruce Lietzke
|Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|11
|1977
|PGA Championship
| Lanny Wadkins
|Lost to par on third extra hole
|}
Source:
PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runners-up
|-
|align=center|1
|align=right|Oct 12, 1975
|Taiheiyo Club Masters
|−6 (69-66-73-70=278)
|1 stroke
| Lee Elder, Hubert Green,<br> Allen Miller, Masashi Ozaki
|}
PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runner-up
|-
|align=center|1
|align=right|Mar 2, 1980
|Australian Masters
|−4 (70-74-67-77=288)
|Playoff
| Rodger Davis
|}
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result
|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|1
|1980
|Australian Masters
| Rodger Davis
|Won with bogey on first extra hole
|}
Other wins (3)
- 1954 California State Open
- 1966 World Series of Golf
- 1974 Taiheiyo Club Masters
Senior PGA Tour wins (8)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runner(s)-up
|-
|align=center|1
|align=right|Mar 20, 1983
|Greater Daytona Senior Classic
|−13 (65-70-68=203)
|6 strokes
| Guy Wolstenholme
|-
|align=center|2
|align=right|Jul 10, 1983
|Greater Syracuse Senior's Pro Classic
|−9 (69-69-70-67=275)
|2 strokes
| Don January
|-
|align=center|3
|align=right|Jan 4, 1984
|Seiko-Tucson Senior Match Play Championship
|colspan=2 align=center|1 up
| Don January
|-
|align=center|4
|align=right|May 4, 1986
|Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic
|−14 (65-66-71=202)
|2 strokes
| Don January
|-
|align=center|5
|align=right|Aug 31, 1986
|Bank One Senior Golf Classic
|−12 (71-63-67=201)
|Playoff
| Miller Barber, Bob Goalby
|-
|align=center|6
|align=right|Aug 2, 1987
|NYNEX/Golf Digest Commemorative
|−10 (67-68-65=200)
|1 stroke
| Dale Douglass
|-
|align=center|7
|align=right|Nov 22, 1987
|Gus Machado Senior Classic
|−6 (71-67-69=207)
|3 strokes
| Orville Moody
|-
|align=center|8
|align=right|Feb 26, 1989
|Aetna Challenge
|−7 (70-70-69=209)
|2 strokes
| Harold Henning
|}
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|1
|1981
|Peter Jackson Champions
| Miller Barber
|Lost to par on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F2C1D1;"
|align=center|2
|1986
|Greater Grand Rapids Open
| Jim Ferree, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
|Ferree won with birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#D0F0C0;"
|align=center|3
|1986
|Bank One Senior Golf Classic
| Miller Barber, Bob Goalby
|Won with par on third extra hole<br>Goalby eliminated by par on first hole
|}
Source: