Fred McLeod
1 Major Championship • 90th All-Time
1
Wins
0
2nd Place
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First Win Age
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Last Win Age
Major Championship Wins
Career Highlights
- 1908 U.S. Open — Won at Myopia Hunt Club in 18-hole playoff, defeating Willie Smith 77 to 83, becoming the smallest champion in U.S. Open history
- 1919 PGA Championship — Runner-up to Jim Barnes in the championship match
- North and South Open — Won twice (1909, 1920) at prestigious Pinehurst resort
- 1938 PGA Seniors Championship — Won at Augusta National at age 56
- Masters Honorary Starter — Served as honorary starter from 1963 to 1976, continuing the tradition until age 94
- 22 U.S. Open Appearances — Competed from 1903 to 1930, recording eight top-10 finishes
Did You Know?
- "The Wasp": At just 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing only 108 pounds (7 stone 10 pounds), McLeod earned the nickname "The Wasp" from fellow professionals. He remains the smallest man ever to win the U.S. Open.
- From Postman to Champion: McLeod began working life as a postman in Scotland at age 14. He emigrated to the United States in 1903 to try his luck as a golf professional — just weeks after arriving, he entered his first U.S. Open.
- Pioneer of Senior Golf: McLeod was a founding member of the senior division of the PGA of America in 1937 and played in the first four Masters Tournaments (1934-1937). He lived to age 94 and is buried at Columbia Country Club in Maryland, where he last worked.