Introduction
William "Willie" Macfarlane (29 June 1889 – 15 August 1961) was a Scottish professional golfer.
Macfarlane was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Like many British golfers of his era, he took a position as a club professional in the United States. In 1925 he won the U.S. Open at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. He tied Bobby Jones over 72 holes, with both men shooting 291. Macfarlane had set a new U.S. Open single round low-score of 67 in the second round. The two men played an 18-hole playoff and both of them shot 75. Macfarlane won a second 18-hole playoff by 72 shots to 73.
Macfarlane played in the U.S. Open 16 times, but only had one other top-10 finish. He won 21 times on the PGA Tour.
Macfarlane died in Miami, Florida.
PGA Tour wins (21)
- 1916 (1) Rockland CC Four-Ball
- 1921 (1) Philadelphia Open Championship
- 1924 (1) Westchester Open
- 1925 (2) U.S. Open, Shawnee Open
- 1928 (1) Shawnee Open
- 1930 (3) Metropolitan Open, Westchester Open, Mid-South Open Bestball (with Wiffy Cox)
- 1931 (2) Miami International Four-Ball (with Wiffy Cox), Kenwood Open
- 1932 (1) St. Petersburg Open
- 1933 (4) Metropolitan Open, Mid-South Pro-Pro (with Paul Runyan), Mid-South Open (tie with Paul Runyan and Joe Turnesa), Miami Biltmore Open (December)
- 1934 (1) Pennsylvania Open Championship
- 1935 (2) Florida West Coast Open, Glens Falls Open
- 1936 (2) Nassau Open, Walter Olson Golf Tournament (tie with Tommy Armour)
Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins
Note: This list is probably incomplete.
- 1922 Westchester Open
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | U.S. Open | 1 shot lead | +7 (74-67-72-78=291) | Playoff 1 |  Bobby Jones |
1 Defeated Jones in second 18-hole playoff – Macfarlane 75-72=147 (+5), Jones 75-73=148 (+6).
Result timeline
| Tournament | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T18 | WD | WD | T35 | DNP | NT | NT | DNP |
| PGA Championship | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | SF | NT | NT | DNP |
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T8 | DNP | WD | DNP | DNP | 1 | T20 | T18 | T14 | T27 |
| PGA Championship | R32 | DNP | DNP | QF | R16 | DNP | DNP | DNP | R16 | DNP |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 6 | T31 | DNP | T19 | 38 | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T43 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | T47 | DNP | T47 | T32 | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | R16 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R32 | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | NT | NT | NT | NT | WD |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Note: Macfarlane never played in The Open Championship.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 12 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 27 | 23 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1923 PGA – 1931 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1923 PGA – 1925 U.S. Open)