Paul Runyan
Paul Runyan | |||||
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Personal information | |||||
Full name | Paul Scott Runyan | ||||
Nickname | Little Poison | ||||
Born | (1908-07-12)July 12, 1908 Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||
Died | March 17, 2002(2002-03-17) (aged 93) Palm Springs, California, U.S. | ||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||
Weight | 130 lb (59 kg; 9.3 st) | ||||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||||
Career | |||||
Turned professional | 1925 | ||||
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||||
Professional wins | 37 | ||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||
PGA Tour | 29 | ||||
Other | 8 | ||||
Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |||||
Masters Tournament | 3rd/T3: 1934, 1942 | ||||
PGA Championship | Won: 1934, 1938 | ||||
U.S. Open | T5: 1941 | ||||
The Open Championship | T18: 1961 | ||||
Achievements and awards | |||||
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Paul Scott Runyan (July 12, 1908 – March 17, 2002) was an American professional golfer. Among the world's best players in the mid-1930s, he won two PGA Championships, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Runyan was also a golf instructor.
Early life
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Runyan started out as a caddie and then an apprentice at a golf course in his hometown, before turning pro at age 17. He was head professional at a Little Rock club by age 18.[1] Runyan served as head pro at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, New York from 1931 to 1943 during which time he won both of his PGA championships.
Tour winner
Three years later, Runyan defeated Craig Wood in extra holes in the title match of the 1934 PGA Championship, the first of his two PGA Championships. Of Runyan's 29 career PGA Tour wins, 16 of them came in 1933 and 1934, and his nine wins in 1933 make him one of only seven golfers to win nine or more times in one year on the PGA Tour. In the first Masters Tournament in 1934, he was paired for the first 36 holes with tournament host Bobby Jones. Runyan won the tour money title in 1934, and was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1933 and 1935.
Runyan was competitive for many years; he won the PGA Championship again in 1938 and led the U.S. Open after three rounds as late as 1951. In the finals of his 1938 PGA, Runyan defeated Sam Snead 8 and 7, the most lopsided title match ever in the event, conducted as match play through 1957. This was despite Snead's vastly greater length off the tee, as much as 75 yards (70 m) per hole.[1]
Fellow golfers nicknamed him "Little Poison" (a take on 1930s baseball player Lloyd Waner, who had the same nickname), primarily because he did not drive the ball very far, but also because he had a terrific short game. Runyan had worked tirelessly on his short game from boyhood, since he realized early on if he were to succeed in golf, he had to compensate for his lack of length. Runyan opined that he is the smallest player in golf history who had significant success,[1] although Fred McLeod had a fine record, too, and stood only 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) and weighed a paltry 108 lb (49 kg; 7.7 st).
Master teacher
Runyan's teaching prowess led many top pros to him over his 75 years of teaching, including Gene Littler, Phil Rodgers, Chuck Courtney, Frank Beard, Jim Ferree and Mickey Wright. Golf Magazine wrote: "... since the late 1930s, he has probably been the most influential short game instructor. Untold thousands have been taught his methods for putting and chipping." Runyan wrote an influential book outlining his short-game methods, The Short Way to Lower Scoring.
He appeared as a contestant on the October 25, 1950, edition of You Bet Your Life where he tells an anecdote of hitting a spectator with his ball and in another competition his partner hits the same man.
Runyan was the first head golf professional at Sahalee Country Club outside Seattle in Sammamish, Washington, and served from 1968 to 1971. He attended the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee and while there received the PGA Distinguished Service Award after playing nine holes on the championship course at age 90.
In 2000, he completed the annual Par 3 competition held one day before the Masters at the age of 91. He died in Palm Springs, California.[2]
Honors
Runyan was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. In addition, he is a member of the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Hall of Fame and The Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame. He received the Harvey Penick Lifetime Teaching Award and the PGA of America Distinguished Service Award.
Professional wins
PGA Tour wins (29)
- 1930 (2) North and South Open, New Jersey Open
- 1931 (2) Metropolitan PGA, Westchester Open
- 1932 (1) Gasparilla Open Match Play
- 1933 (9) Agua Caliente Open, Miami Biltmore Open (March), Virginia Beach Cavalier Open, Eastern Open Championship, National Capital Open, Mid-South Pro-Pro (with Willie Macfarlane), Mid-South Open (tie with Willie Macfarlane and Joe Turnesa), Miami International Four-Ball (with Horton Smith), Pasadena Open
- 1934 (6) St. Petersburg Open, Florida West Coast Open, Tournament of the Gardens Open, The Cavalier Open, Metropolitan Open, PGA Championship
- 1935 (4) North and South Open, Grand Slam Open, Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA
- 1936 (2) Westchester Open, Metropolitan PGA
- 1938 (1) PGA Championship
- 1939 (1) Westchester Open
- 1941 (1) Goodall Round Robin
Major championships are shown in bold.
Other wins
this list is probably incomplete
- 1934 Westchester Open
- 1938 Argentine Open
- 1942 Westchester Open
- 1947 Southern California PGA Championship
Senior wins
- 1961 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Senior Championship
- 1962 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Senior Championship
Major championships
Wins (2)
Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1934 | PGA Championship | 38 holes | ![]() |
1938 | PGA Championship | 8 & 7 | ![]() |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play through 1957
Results timeline
Tournament | 1928 | 1929 |
---|---|---|
U.S. Open | 63 | |
The Open Championship | ||
PGA Championship |
Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | T3 | 7 | T4 | T19 | 4 | T16 |
U.S. Open | T12 | DQ | T28 | T10 | T8 | T14 | T7 | T9 | ||
The Open Championship | CUT | |||||||||
PGA Championship | R16 | R32 | QF | 1 | QF | R64 | R16 | 1 | QF |
Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T12 | T35 | 3 | NT | NT | NT | ||||
U.S. Open | 49 | T5 | NT | NT | NT | NT | 21 | T6 | T53 | |
The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | ||||
PGA Championship | QF | R64 | DNQ | NT | DNQ |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | T35 | ||||||||
U.S. Open | T25 | T6 | T22 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||
The Open Championship | ||||||||||
PGA Championship | R64 | DNQ |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | |||||||||
U.S. Open | CUT | |||||||||
The Open Championship | T18 | CUT | ||||||||
PGA Championship | WD | CUT |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | |||||
U.S. Open | |||||
The Open Championship | |||||
PGA Championship | CUT | WD |
NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
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
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 16 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 12 |
Totals | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 52 | 39 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 33 (1933 PGA – 1952 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (1934 PGA – 1936 U.S. Open)
See also
References
- ^ a b c Barkow, Al (1986). Gettin' to the Dance Floor: An Oral History of American Golf. Atheneum Books. ISBN 978-0-689-11517-2.
- ^ "Paul Runyan, 93, Winner Of 29 Events on PGA Tour". The New York Times. March 19, 2002. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
External links
- Paul Runyan at the World Golf Hall of Fame
- v
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era
- 1916 Jim Barnes
- 1919 Jim Barnes
- 1920 Jock Hutchison
- 1921 Walter Hagen
- 1922 Gene Sarazen
- 1923 Gene Sarazen
- 1924 Walter Hagen
- 1925 Walter Hagen
- 1926 Walter Hagen
- 1927 Walter Hagen
- 1928 Leo Diegel
- 1929 Leo Diegel
- 1930 Tommy Armour
- 1931 Tom Creavy
- 1932 Olin Dutra
- 1933 Gene Sarazen
- 1934 Paul Runyan
- 1935 Johnny Revolta
- 1936 Denny Shute
- 1937 Denny Shute
- 1938 Paul Runyan
- 1939 Henry Picard
- 1940 Byron Nelson
- 1941 Vic Ghezzi
- 1942 Sam Snead
- 1944 Bob Hamilton
- 1945 Byron Nelson
- 1946 Ben Hogan
- 1947 Jim Ferrier
- 1948 Ben Hogan
- 1949 Sam Snead
- 1950 Chandler Harper
- 1951 Sam Snead
- 1952 Jim Turnesa
- 1953 Walter Burkemo
- 1954 Chick Harbert
- 1955 Doug Ford
- 1956 Jack Burke Jr.
- 1957 Lionel Hebert
era
- 1958 Dow Finsterwald
- 1959 Bob Rosburg
- 1960 Jay Hebert
- 1961 Jerry Barber†
- 1962 Gary Player
- 1963 Jack Nicklaus
- 1964‡ Bobby Nichols
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- 1969‡ Raymond Floyd
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- 1996 Mark Brooks†
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- 2000‡ Tiger Woods†
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- 2010 Martin Kaymer†
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- 2013 Jason Dufner
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- 2022 Justin Thomas†
- 2023 Brooks Koepka
- 2024‡ Xander Schauffele