Lyman Loren "Smiley" Quick (March 19, 1909 – December 23, 1979) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s.

Smiley Quick
Personal information
Full nameLyman Loren Quick
NicknameSmiley
Born(1909-03-19)March 19, 1909
Centralia, Illinois
DiedDecember 23, 1979(1979-12-23) (aged 70)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
Turned professional1948
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins6
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other5
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT27: 1952
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT8: 1948
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Quick was born in Centralia, Illinois,[1] but lived most of his life in southern California in places like Inglewood and Los Angeles. He served as a combat Marine in World War II.[2] His best year as an amateur was 1946 when he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links and was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur after missing a putt from 212 feet at Baltusrol's Lower Course giving Ted Bishop the championship.[3] Quick played on the 1947 Walker Cup team and turned professional in 1948.[1]

As a pro, Quick never lived up to the potential he showed as an amateur; the closest he came to winning on the PGA Tour was when he tied for first with Jack Burke Jr., Sam Snead and Dave Douglas at the 1950 Bing Crosby Pro-Am.[1]

In his later years, he made a living gambling on the golf course with people like Titanic Thompson.[1] Quick hustled boxing great Joe Louis out of a quarter million dollars — enough to buy an apartment in Los Angeles and a fleet of fast cars.[2][4]

Amateur wins edit

  • 1940 Southern California Golf Association Championship
  • 1943 Southern California Golf Association Championship
  • 1946 U.S. Amateur Public Links
  • 1947 Mexican Amateur

Professional wins (6) edit

PGA Tour wins (1) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jan 15, 1950 Bing Crosby Pro-Am −2 (72-69-73=214) Shared title with   Jack Burke Jr.,
  Dave Douglas and   Sam Snead

Other wins (5) edit

Results in major championships edit

Amateur

Tournament 1946 1947
U.S. Open T26LA CUT
U.S. Amateur 2 R128
The Amateur Championship R128

Professional

Tournament 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958
Masters Tournament T27
U.S. Open T8 CUT T10 CUT WD T16 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in match play

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for 1947 Amateur Championship: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1947, pg. 6.

U.S. national team appearances edit

Amateur

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Today in Golf History: March 19". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  2. ^ a b McGowan, Jack (September 29, 2007). "Boxing: Money burned a hole in sucker Joe's pocket". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  3. ^ "Major National Championships Conducted at Baltusrol – 1946 Men's U.S. Amateur". Tillinghast.net. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
  4. ^ Lerner, Rich (November 12, 2007). "The Brown Bomber's Green Legacy". The Golf Channel. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2007.