Henry Williams Jr.: Little-Known Golf Pro Who Nearly Won Major
Once described by the New York Times as "a pro who looks like a professor," Henry Williams Jr. was actually a club professional who played the PGA mostly on the side in the 1950s and into the 1960s. He won once on tour, but came close to winning a major — he made it into the championship match in the PGA Championship during that tournament's match-play era.
Full name: Henry Ernest Williams Jr.
Date of birth: January 20, 1917
Place of birth: Reading, Pennsylvania
Date and place of death: in Laureldale, Pennsylvania
His Biggest Wins
Williams had one victory in an official PGA Tour tournament:- 1952 Tucson Open
- Philadelphia PGA Championship: 1949, 1953, 1958
- Philadelphia Open: 1951, 1955
- Pennsylvania Open: 1954, 1962
- Philadelphia Seniors Championship: 1973, 1975, 1976
In the Majors
Williams' biggest claim to fame today is that he came close to winning a major: He finished second in the 1950 PGA Championship. That major used a match-play format at that time, and Williams made it into the championship match before falling.Williams got to the final by beating Bill Heinlein and Emery Thomas in the first and second rounds, respectively. In the third round he knocked out Claude Harmon on the second extra hole of the scheduled-for-36 match, winning 1-up on the 38th hole. In the quarterfinals, he beat Dave Douglas, 1-up.
In the semifinals, Williams came back from a 6-down deficit to with just eight holes left against Henry Picard to tie the match on the 36th hole. Then he again won on the 38th.
That set up the championship match against Chandler Harper. Although the score was never out-of-hand, Harper had control of the match throughout and defeated Williams, 4 and 3.
Williams played in 20 major championships over his career, first in the 1944 PGA Championship, last in the 1960 U.S. Open. He also tied for fifth place (losing in the quarterfinals) in the 1949 PGA Championship (he beat Gene Sarazen in the first round). And he reached the Round of 16 (tied for ninth place) in the PGA Championships of 1952 and 1953. His best finish in the U.S. Open or Masters (he never played the British Open) was tied for 29th in the 1950 U.S. Open.
More About Henry Williams Jr.
Henry Williams Jr. spent virtually his entire life in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was born in Reading, and lived in Fleetwood his last 50 years. His father was a head pro at multiple clubs in Pennsylvania, and young Henry learned golf from his father and by caddying at his father's club, Lehigh Country Club.Henry's sister Frances also learned from their father. She later won the inaugural Pennsylvania State Women's Amateur in 1933.
Henry Jr. became a club pro himself at age 20, in the late 1930s. He made his first PGA Tour appearance in 1944.
Williams was never a full-time tour pro, however. He was a full-time club pro who made tournament appearances when he could. That meant, in most cases, playing PGA Tour events on the so-called "winter circuit," then returning to Pennsvylania when the weather warmed up enough to open the golf course for play.
He won once on the PGA Tour, and that victory was in the 1952 Tucson Open. Williams finished two strokes ahead of the runner-up, Hall of Famer Cary Middlecoff.
Over the ensuing 10 years, from 1953 through 1962, Williams made as many as 10 starts on tour in only one year, and in most of those years he played seven or fewer tour stops. And his best finish in that stretch was tied fifth in the 1960 Coral Gables Open Invitational.
But Williams was a frequent winner back home in Pennsylvania, taking multiple titles, as noted above in the "His Biggest Wins" section. He also showed flashes on the PGA Tour and Caribbean Tour.
In the 1961 Phoenix Open, Williams scored a course-record 63 in the second round. The Associated Press referred to him that week as "a teaching professional who seldom leaves his home club for the tournament trail."
He finished second in the 1962 Puerto Rico Open on the Caribbean Tour, a circuit very loosely affiliated with the PGA Tour and played by many tour pros. Then, after tying the course record in the first round, Williams won the 1962 Jamaica Open by two strokes over second-place Al Geiberger.
But Williams' last appearance in a PGA Tour tournament was also in 1962, the year he turned 45 years old. PGA Tour statistics show Williams with 117 total starts in tour events, with the one win and one runner-up finish. He had eight career Top 10 finishes.
Williams served as head professional at multiple clubs including Windsor Country Club in Vermont and, in Pennsylvania, at Phoenixville Country Club and Susquehanna Valley Country Club. In 1951, he took over as head pro at Berkleigh Country Club in Kutztown, Penn., a position he held until 1975. From 1976 until his retirement in 1993, Williams was pro at Moselem Springs Country Club in his native Berks County.
Williams is a member of the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame, the Berks County Hall of Fame, and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call. Obituaries, Henry E. Williams Jr., February 10, 2002.
Brenner, Morgan. The Majors of Golf, Volume 3, 2009, McFarland and Company.
Fleetwood Area Historical Society. Henry Williams, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20081121164923/http://www.fleetwoodpa.org/williams_henry.htm.
Gibson, Nevin H. The Encyclopedia of Golf, 1964, A.S. Barnes and Company.
The New York Times. "Williams Annexes Tucson Golf on 274," Associated Press, February 4, 1952.
The New York Times. "Williams Leads Golf By 2 Shots," Associated Press, February 11, 1961.
Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Inductees, Henry E. Williams Jr., https://www.pasportshof.org/inductees/.
The Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer. Obituaries, Henry E. Williams Jr., February 12, 2002.
Philadelphia Section PGA of America. Hall of Fame, Inductees, Henry Williams, http://philadelphia.pga.com/about-ppga/hall-of-fame/.
The Pittsburgh (Pa.) Press. "Williams Ends Victory Wait," Universal Press International, March 12, 1962.
PGA of America. PGA Championship Media Guide 2012, Past Tournaments, 1950 and 1949.
PGA Tour. Players, Henry Williams, Career, https://www.pgatour.com/player/06440/henry-williams/career.
Trenham, Peter C. A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members, Leaders and Legends, Henry E. Williams Jr., http://philadelphia.pga.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/1960-1969-Leaders-Legends1.pdf.
