Sam Little (golfer)
Encyclopedia
Career
Little turned professional in 1997, and joined the Challenge TourChallenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
in 1999, where he recorded his first win in 2001. In 2004 he won for the second time at that level, and graduated to the European Tour at the end of the season via qualifying school
Qualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
. He became renowned for last-gasp performances to maintain his Tour playing rights, ending narrowly inside the top 115 qualifiers in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and finishing runner-up in the final tournament of 2007 to move up to 76th in the Order of Merit from outside the top 170. This remains his best season-end finish.
After the 2010 season Little lost his playing rights on the European Tour, having finished 182nd, and returned to the Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
.
In 2011, Little won three events from mid-September to mid-October to regain his European Tour card for the remainder of 2011 and 2012.
Family
Little has a wife, Maria, and three children including twin girls. His brother Jamie is also a professional golfer who has played on the Challenge TourChallenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
.
Challenge Tour wins (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Sep 2001 2001 Challenge Tour The 2001 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Formby Hall Challenge Formby Hall Challenge The Formby Hall Challenge was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was played annually from 1996 to 2002. It was also an event on the third-tier MasterCard Tour.... |
1 stroke |  Grant Hamerton |
|
| 2 | 17 Jul 2004 2004 Challenge Tour The 2004 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Texbond Open Texbond Open The Texbond Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was played from 2004 to 2006 at Gardagolf, close to the shores of Lake Garda in Soiano del Lago near Brescia, Italy.-Winners:-External links:*... |
3 strokes |  Henrik NyströmHenrik Nyström -Career:Nyström played college golf for Lynn University in the United States. He won the 1994 individual NAIA Men's Golf Championship.Nyström turned professional in 1994. He spent his early career on the Challenge Tour, before reaching the top-level European Tour for the first time via qualifying... ,  Massimo ScarpaMassimo Scarpa Massimo Scarpa is an Italian professional golfer.Scarpa was born in Venice and turned professional at the end of 1992 having won the European Amateur. He played on the European Tour and the second tier Challenge Tour between 1993 and 2006. He won once on the European Tour and twice on the... |
|
| 3 | 18 Sep 2011 2011 Challenge Tour The 2011 Challenge Tour was a series of professional golf tournaments collectively known as the Challenge Tour.The Challenge Tour is Europe's official developmental tour and is organised by the PGA European Tour... |
M2M Russian Challenge Cup M2M Russian Challenge Cup The M2M Russian Challenge Cup is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in Russia. It was held for the first time in 2010.-Winners:-External links:*... |
1 stroke | Andrew Johnston Andrew Johnston (golfer) Andrew Johnston is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.-Career:Johnston was a successful Amateur, representing England boys and the Great Britain and Ireland team in the Jacques Léglise Trophy. He turned professional in 2009 and won for the first time that year on the... |
|
| 4 | 25 Sep 2011 | Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse | 1 stroke |  Simon ThorntonSimon Thornton (golfer) Simon Thornton is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.-Career:Thornton was a late starter to golf, only taking up the sport in his late teens and turning professional at the advanced age of 28... |
|
| 5 | 16 Oct 2011 | Roma Golf Open | Playoff | Pelle Edberg Pelle Edberg Per Oscar "Pelle" Edberg is a Swedish professional golfer.Edberg was born in Jönköping. He turned professional in 1997, and after several unsuccessful attempts at the European Tour qualifying school, finally gained his tour card in 2004, having played most of that year on the second tier Challenge... |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2006 |
|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP |
| 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... |
DNP |
| 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... |
CUT |
| 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... |
DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.