Bill Mehlhorn
Encyclopedia
William Earl Mehlhorn was an American
golf
er who played on the PGA Tour
in its early days, and was at his best in the 1920s.
Mehlhorn was originally from Illinois
and lived a majority of his life in Seaford, New York
when not traveling. He often wore cowboy hats on the course and was nicknamed "Wild Bill." He won 20 times on the PGA Tour, but did not win a major championship
. Only a handful of golfers have won more often on the PGA Tour without claiming a major. He finished 14 times in the top-10 at majors. His best finish was runner-up to Walter Hagen
at the 1925 PGA Championship
. Mehlhorn competed on the first Ryder Cup
team in 1927 as well as the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934. He was a gallery favorite because of his uncanny accuracy from tee to green, but his game was undermined by problems with putting: the yips
.
Mehlhorn also designed and plotted several golf courses across the country.
Mehlhorn retired and moved to Miami, Florida
with his family, where he coached golf at Florida International University
with Bobby Shave during his later years. Mehlhorn and Shave wrote the book, Golf Secrets Exposed, in the early 1980s to summarize Mehlhorn's golf secrets and insight. Two versions of the book have been published since Mehlhorn's death.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
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
Yellow background for top-10
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who played on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
in its early days, and was at his best in the 1920s.
Mehlhorn was originally from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and lived a majority of his life in Seaford, New York
Seaford, New York
Seaford is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Seaford is located at ....
when not traveling. He often wore cowboy hats on the course and was nicknamed "Wild Bill." He won 20 times on the PGA Tour, but did not win a major championship
Men's major golf championships
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...
. Only a handful of golfers have won more often on the PGA Tour without claiming a major. He finished 14 times in the top-10 at majors. His best finish was runner-up to Walter Hagen
Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen was a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of eleven professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods . He won the U.S. Open twice, and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open, which he went on...
at the 1925 PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
. Mehlhorn competed on the first Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
team in 1927 as well as the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934. He was a gallery favorite because of his uncanny accuracy from tee to green, but his game was undermined by problems with putting: the yips
Yips
Yips or the yips is an expression used to describe the apparent loss of certain fine motor skills seemingly without explanation in one of a number of different sports....
.
Mehlhorn also designed and plotted several golf courses across the country.
Mehlhorn retired and moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
with his family, where he coached golf at Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
with Bobby Shave during his later years. Mehlhorn and Shave wrote the book, Golf Secrets Exposed, in the early 1980s to summarize Mehlhorn's golf secrets and insight. Two versions of the book have been published since Mehlhorn's death.
PGA Tour wins (20)
- 1923 (2) Texas Open, Oklahoma OpenOklahoma OpenThe Oklahoma Open is the Oklahoma state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Oklahoma Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1910 at a variety of courses around the state...
- 1924 (1) Western OpenWestern OpenThe Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
- 1926 (5) Long Beach OpenLong Beach OpenThe Long Beach Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was held in Long Beach, California at the Virginia Country Club from 1926 to 1930 and at the Lakewood Country Club from 1949 to 1951.-Winners:Lakewood Park Open*1951 Cary Middlecoff...
, South Central Open, South Florida Open Championship, Santa Clara Valley Open, San Jose Open - 1927 (1) San Jose Open
- 1928 (6) Long Beach OpenLong Beach OpenThe Long Beach Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was held in Long Beach, California at the Virginia Country Club from 1926 to 1930 and at the Lakewood Country Club from 1949 to 1951.-Winners:Lakewood Park Open*1951 Cary Middlecoff...
(January; tie with Leo Diegel), Texas Open, Richmond Open, Montauk Open, Westchester OpenWestchester OpenThe Westchester Open is golf tournament organized by the Westchester Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1920 at member clubs in New York or Connecticut...
, Hawaiian OpenSony Open in HawaiiThe Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian Open in 1965. Starting in 1971, the tournament was held... - 1929 (4) El Paso OpenEl Paso Open (PGA Tour)The El Paso Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the late 1920s and the 1950s. It was played at the El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas...
, Texas Open, South Central Open, Metropolitan OpenMetropolitan OpenThe Metropolitan Open is golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1905 and is the third oldest "Open" golf tournament in the United States after the U.S. Open and the Western Open. It is held at member clubs in New York, New Jersey, and... - 1930 (1) La Gorce OpenLa Gorce OpenThe La Gorce Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1928 to 1931. It was held at the La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach, Florida.-Winners:*1931 Gene Sarazen*1930 Bill Mehlhorn*1929 Horton Smith*1928 Johnny Farrell-External links:*...
Other wins
- 1924 Miami International Four-BallMiami International Four-BallThe Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida...
(with Macdonald SmithMacdonald SmithMacdonald "Mac" Smith was one of the top golfers in the world from about 1910 to the mid 1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family....
) - 1926 Miami International Four-BallMiami International Four-BallThe Miami International Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1954. It was played primarily at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida...
(with Macdonald SmithMacdonald SmithMacdonald "Mac" Smith was one of the top golfers in the world from about 1910 to the mid 1930s. He was a member of a famous Scottish golfing family....
)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
WD | T27 | DNP | 4 | T8 | 3 | T15 | T3 | 5 | T49 | T55 |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
NT | DNP | T16 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T8 | CUT | T9 | T36 |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
R32 | R16 | DNP | DNP | DNP | R32 | 2 | DNP | R32 | R32 | R16 |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | WD | T35 | DNP | T33 |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
T9 | T4 | T35 | DNP | T37 | DNP | DNP | T50 |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
R32 | R16 | DNP | DNP | R32 | DNP | SF | R64 |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
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
Yellow background for top-10