Fansided

The best golfer from every U.S. state

By Cody Williams

DUBLIN, OH - JUNE 3: Tiger Woods poses with tournament host Jack Nicklaus and the tournament trophy after winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 3, 2012 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)
DUBLIN, OH - JUNE 3: Tiger Woods poses with tournament host Jack Nicklaus and the tournament trophy after winning the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 3, 2012 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Chris Condon/PGA TOUR) /
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(Original Caption) 6/4/36– Paul Runyon, adding up his 69 after finishing.
(Original Caption) 6/4/36– Paul Runyon, adding up his 69 after finishing. /

Arkansas: Paul Runyan

A native of Hot Springs and born in 1908, Paul Runyan was a diminutive man in terms of his stature, coming in at just 5-foot-7 and a meager 130 pounds. However, he looked far from a small man with a club in his hands as he was incredibly dominant on the PGA Tour after turning pro in 1925. While he was impressive throughout that time — as he still resided in Little Rock as well — it wasn’t until he moved to White Plains, NY in the early 1930s that he truly began to take the golfing world by storm.

Throughout 1933 and 1934, Runyan was truly an unstoppable force. In the former season, the Arkansas native won an incredible nine tournaments on the PGA Tour. His 1933 season puts him in rarified air as he’s one of only nine golfers in the history of the tour to win nine times or more in a single season. He didn’t stop there, however, as he would go on to win seven more tournaments in the 1934 season, giving him a total of 16 victories over the span of just two years.

In the aforementioned 1934 season, Runyan captured his first of two major championships by winning the PGA Championship. He would also win the same major again in 1938. Meanwhile, he finished third at The Masters in 1934 and 1942, fifth at the 1941 U.S. Open and tied for 18th at the 1961 Open Championship to round out his best finishes in majors. With 29 total PGA Tour wins, he certainly earned his spot on this list.

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