Anderson, Willie
Golf
b. May 1880, North Berwick, Scotland
d. Oct. 25, 1910
America's first great golfer, Anderson was the son of a Scottish greens keeper. He came to the U. S. in 1895 and two years later, at seventeen, he finished second in the U. S. Open. He won the title in 1901 by beating Alex Smith in a playoff at the Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, MA. After finishing fifth in 1902, he won three Opens in a row, 1903, 1904, and 1905. He's the only golfer to accomplish that, and one of only four to win the title four times. (The others are Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, and Jack Nicklaus.)
Anderson was also a four-time winner of the Western Open, which was then the second most important U. S. tournament. He won that event in 1902, 1904, 1908, and 1909. His 1909 score of 288 was a record for 72 holes on a full-length course.
Anderson was known as a serious, even grim, competitor. He certainly took the Open very seriously: In both 1906 and 1910 he took jobs at the club that was to host the next tournament. Off the course he was friendly and convivial among friends and fellow golfers. His sudden death at the age of thirty is generally attributed to arteriosclerosis, but some have speculated that it was caused by heavy drinking.