William Earl Mehlhorn (December 2, 1898 – April 5, 1989) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in its early days, and was at his best in the 1920s.
Career Mehlhorn was born in Elgin, 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 19 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 PGA Championship in 1925. 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, including Pensacola, Florida's Osceola Golf Course.
Mehlhorn retired and moved to Miami, Florida with his family, where he coached golf at Florida International University with Bob 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.
Professional wins (21) PGA Tour wins (19) 1923 (1) Oklahoma Open 1924 (1) Western Open 1926 (5) Long Beach Open, South Central Open, South Florida Open Championship, Santa Clara Valley Open, San Jose Open 1927 (1) San Jose Open 1928 (6) Long Beach Open (January; tie with Leo Diegel), Texas Open, Richmond Open, Montauk Open, Westchester Open, Hawaiian Open 1929 (4) El Paso Open, Texas Open, South Central Open, Metropolitan Open 1930 (1) La Gorce Open
Source:
Other wins 1924 Miami International Four-Ball (with Macdonald Smith) 1926 Miami International Four-Ball (with Macdonald Smith)
Results in major championships Tournament19191920192119221923192419251926192719281929U.S. OpenWDT274T83T15T35T49T55The Open ChampionshipNTT16T8CUT9T36PGA ChampionshipR32R16R322R32R32R16
Tournament19301931193219331934193519361937Masters TournamentNYFNYFNYFNYFWDT35T33U.S. OpenT9T4T35T37T50The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipR32R16R32SFR64
NYF = tournament not yet founded NT = no tournament 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
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2U.S. Open 0 0 2 5 7 8 15 14The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 4PGA Championship 0 1 1 2 5 11 12 12Totals 0 1 3 7 14 22 35 32 Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1919 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open) Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1925 PGA – 1927 U.S. Open)
See also List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
References
External links Golf with Mehlhorn