Willie Smith (golfer) Willie Smith (golfer) Willie Smith (8 October 1876 – 26 December 1916) was a Scottish golfer. He won the 1899 U.S. Open. Willie Smith was born in Dundee, Scotland on 8 October 1876. He learned to play golf in Carnoustie. His brothers Alex and Macdonald were also expert golfers. While working as a professional at the Midlothian Country Club, near Chicago he won the fifth staging of the U.S. Open in 1899, which was played at the Baltimore Country Club, Roland Park Course. He won by a margin of eleven shots, which wasn't bettered until Tiger Woods won the 2000
Professional golf career of Tiger Woods strokes. The landmark victory made Woods the tournament's youngest-ever winner, as well as its first African-American winner (and its first Asian-American winner). Woods set 20 Masters records in 1997 and tied six others. He went on to win another three PGA Tour events that year, and on June 15, 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, the fastest-ever ascent to world No. 1. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Woods was named PGA Player of the Year, the first time a golfer had won the award in