Edward White (golfer)
Encyclopedia
Edward White is an American
amateur
golf
er and retired engineer
. He had impressive golf achievements in the early-to-mid 1930s, winning several significant titles, and represented the United States
, but never turned professional at golf, since the prize money was low at that time. He graduated in engineering from the University of Texas, and had a successful oil business career.
. He had worked as a caddy
at the golf club in Bonham, but had minimal playing privileges there, so he laid out his own six-hole course, with the help of friends, and played on that. He studied photos of famous players, such as Bobby Jones
and Walter Hagen
, in golf magazines, to teach himself how to play. He moved to Austin, Texas
in the summer of 1931, and joined the Austin Country Club. He enrolled at the University of Texas as an engineering student in the fall of 1931, and made the varsity golf team, playing for coach Harvey Penick
. At that stage, he had never had a golf lesson from a professional. In February 1932, White scored 252 for 72 holes in the qualifying tournament for the Texas university team, playing at the Austin Country Club (Riverside Drive course), with rounds of 61-64-65-62, winning the Massengill Trophy comfortably; his score in that event has never been challenged, and it may be the lowest ever recorded in the history of golf, over 72 holes on a regulation golf course. The current 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour
is 254, set by Tommy Armour III
in 2003.
As a freshman that year, White was ineligible at the time for full varsity competition (the rule was later changed). He won three consecutive Southwest Conference individual titles in golf, from 1933 to 1935. White lost in the finals of the 1934 NCAA Golf Championship
, but in 1935, he defeated Fred Haas
in the finals of that event, held at the Congressional Country Club
. He was the first University of Texas player to win this event. He won the Mexican Amateur Championship in 1935.
After graduation, White accepted a job in petroleum engineering with Gulf Oil
, moved to Houston, and joined the Houston Country Club. He represented the United States
in the 1936 Walker Cup
at the Pine Valley Golf Club
, winning all of his matches, and helping his team win the event. With the world still mired in the Great Depression
at that time, and the PGA Tour
still in its formative years, the prize money available in golf was still quite low. From 1936 onwards, White focused on his engineering career, started a family, and played some amateur golf in the state of Texas
, all with success.
, Mickey Wright
, Kathy Whitworth
, Tom Kite
, and Ben Crenshaw
(all members of the World Golf Hall of Fame
), and who is himself a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
, wrote that had White turned professional at golf in the mid-1930s, he would have been the best of his time. Penick stated that White had as much talent for golf as anyone he ever saw, drove the ball as long and accurately as Byron Nelson
and Ben Hogan
did in their primes, and was the best long-iron player he saw until the arrival of Jack Nicklaus
on the PGA Tour
in the early 1960s. Fred Haas
, who later won the Canadian Amateur Championship
and five events on the PGA Tour
, said that White was the best player he ever saw.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
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 and retired engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. He had impressive golf achievements in the early-to-mid 1930s, winning several significant titles, and represented the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but never turned professional at golf, since the prize money was low at that time. He graduated in engineering from the University of Texas, and had a successful oil business career.
Golf career
Edward White was a self-taught player from Bonham, TexasBonham, Texas
Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,127 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fannin County. James Bonham sought the aid of James Fannin at the Battle of the Alamo....
. He had worked as a caddy
Caddy
In golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
at the golf club in Bonham, but had minimal playing privileges there, so he laid out his own six-hole course, with the help of friends, and played on that. He studied photos of famous players, such as Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
and 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...
, in golf magazines, to teach himself how to play. He moved to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in the summer of 1931, and joined the Austin Country Club. He enrolled at the University of Texas as an engineering student in the fall of 1931, and made the varsity golf team, playing for coach Harvey Penick
Harvey Penick
Harvey Morrison Penick was an American golf professional and coach, who coached many Hall of Fame players. Late in life, he became a best-selling writer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002, seven years after his death.-Golf career:Penick was born in Austin, Texas...
. At that stage, he had never had a golf lesson from a professional. In February 1932, White scored 252 for 72 holes in the qualifying tournament for the Texas university team, playing at the Austin Country Club (Riverside Drive course), with rounds of 61-64-65-62, winning the Massengill Trophy comfortably; his score in that event has never been challenged, and it may be the lowest ever recorded in the history of golf, over 72 holes on a regulation golf course. The current 72-hole scoring record 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...
is 254, set by Tommy Armour III
Tommy Armour III
Thomas Dickson "Tommy" Armour III is an American professional golfer.Armour first joined the PGA Tour in 1981 at the age of 21. He has two career PGA Tour victories, winning the 1990 Phoenix Open and the 2003 Valero Texas Open...
in 2003.
As a freshman that year, White was ineligible at the time for full varsity competition (the rule was later changed). He won three consecutive Southwest Conference individual titles in golf, from 1933 to 1935. White lost in the finals of the 1934 NCAA Golf Championship
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
, but in 1935, he defeated Fred Haas
Fred Haas
Frederick T. "Freddie" Haas, Jr. was an American professional golfer.Hass was born in Portland, Arkansas...
in the finals of that event, held at the Congressional Country Club
Congressional Country Club
The Congressional Country Club is a country club and golf course in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Congressional opened in 1924 and has hosted three U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship, and is an annual stop on the PGA Tour, with the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods. The tournament was first...
. He was the first University of Texas player to win this event. He won the Mexican Amateur Championship in 1935.
After graduation, White accepted a job in petroleum engineering with Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
, moved to Houston, and joined the Houston Country Club. He represented the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1936 Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
at the Pine Valley Golf Club
Pine Valley Golf Club
Pine Valley Golf Club is a golf course in Pine Valley, Camden County, in southern New Jersey. It was ranked the number one course in Golf Magazines 100 Top Courses in the U.S. and the World in 2009.-History:...
, winning all of his matches, and helping his team win the event. With the world still mired in the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
at that time, and 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...
still in its formative years, the prize money available in golf was still quite low. From 1936 onwards, White focused on his engineering career, started a family, and played some amateur golf in the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, all with success.
Tributes
Penick, who later coached Betsy RawlsBetsy Rawls
Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls is an American professional golfer.Rawls was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After attending the University of Texas, Rawls joined the LPGA Tour in its second season in 1951. She won 55 tournaments on the tour, including eight major championships...
, Mickey Wright
Mickey Wright
Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright is an American professional golfer. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
, Kathy Whitworth
Kathy Whitworth
Kathy Whitworth is an American professional golfer. Throughout her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else has won on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour. In 1981 she became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1 million on the LPGA Tour...
, Tom Kite
Tom Kite
Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1989 and 1994....
, and Ben Crenshaw
Ben Crenshaw
Ben Daniel Crenshaw is an American professional golfer.Crenshaw was born in Austin, Texas. He attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973...
(all members of the World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
), and who is himself a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
, wrote that had White turned professional at golf in the mid-1930s, he would have been the best of his time. Penick stated that White had as much talent for golf as anyone he ever saw, drove the ball as long and accurately as Byron Nelson
Byron Nelson
John Byron Nelson, Jr. was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946.Nelson and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912...
and Ben Hogan
Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan was an American golfer, generally considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game...
did in their primes, and was the best long-iron player he saw until the arrival of Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
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 the early 1960s. Fred Haas
Fred Haas
Frederick T. "Freddie" Haas, Jr. was an American professional golfer.Hass was born in Portland, Arkansas...
, who later won the Canadian Amateur Championship
Canadian Amateur Championship
The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by the Royal Canadian Golf Association. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1995...
and five events 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...
, said that White was the best player he ever saw.