Sam Little (golfer)

Sam Little (born 31 August 1975) is an English professional golfer and sports agent. He won five times on the Challenge Tour.[1]

Sam Little
Little at the 2011 Telenet Trophy
Personal information
Born (1975-08-31) 31 August 1975
London, England
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb; 13.1 st)
Sporting nationality England
ResidenceRickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England
Spouse
Maria
​
(m. 2006)​
Children4
Career
Turned professional1997
Former tour(s)European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
Challenge Tour5 (Tied 7th all time)
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2006

Early and personal life

Little was born in London, England, and is Jewish and has been a member of Hendon Reform Synagogue.[2][3][4]

Career

Little turned professional in 1997, and joined the Challenge Tour in 1999, where he recorded his first win in 2001.[5] In 2004 he won for the second time at that level,[6] and graduated to the European Tour at the end of the season via qualifying school. He became renowned for last-gasp performances to maintain his Tour playing rights, ending narrowly inside the top 115 qualifiers in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and finishing runner-up in the final tournament of 2007 to move up to 76th in the Order of Merit from outside the top 170. This remains his best season-end finish.

After the 2010 season Little lost his playing rights on the European Tour, having finished 182nd, and returned to the Challenge Tour.

In 2011, Little won three events from mid-September to mid-October, the M2M Russian Challenge Cup, the Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse, and the Roma Golf Open, to regain his European Tour card for the remainder of 2011 and 2012.[7][8]

Little served on the Maccabi GB Golf Management Team for the 2013 Maccabiah Games.[9]

In 2014 he became a sports agent.[10][11]

Family

Little has a wife, Maria, and four children including twin girls. His brother Jamie is also a professional golfer who has played on the European Tour and Challenge Tour.

Professional wins (5)

Challenge Tour wins (5)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 2 Sep 2001 Formby Hall Challenge −12 (71-72-64-69=276) 1 stroke England Grant Hamerton
2 17 Jul 2004 Texbond Open −19 (71-65-67-66=269) 3 strokes Sweden Henrik Nyström, Italy Massimo Scarpa
3 18 Sep 2011 M2M Russian Challenge Cup −11 (74-69-68-66=277) 1 stroke England Andrew Johnston
4 25 Sep 2011 Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse −16 (66-68-66-68=268) 1 stroke Republic of Ireland Simon Thornton
5 16 Oct 2011 Roma Golf Open −11 (66-68-71-68=273) Playoff Sweden Pelle Edberg

Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2011 Roma Golf Open Sweden Pelle Edberg Won with par on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships
Tournament 2006
The Open Championship CUT

Note: Little only played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut

See also

References
  1. McGarr, Rob (13 November 2015). "What's it like being a Tour pro who's not making millions?". Today's Golfer.
  2. Silver, Craig (2 November 2017). "Classic Little marks his card". The Jewish Chronicle – via PressReader.com.
  3. "Jewish golfer wins tourney". Jewish Post. 17 November 1999. p. NAT 3 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  4. "Ryder Cup stars lead £40K drive for care home". thejc.com.
  5. "2001 Schedule - Challenge Tour". European Tour.
  6. "2004 Schedule - Challenge Tour". European Tour.
  7. "2011 Schedule - Challenge Tour". European Tour.
  8. "Sam Little". European Tour.
  9. "Maccabi GB announce Golf Management Team for the Maccabiah Games". www.maccabigb.org.
  10. Squires, Neil (4 August 2015). "England's Sam Little believes not all golfers have it as good as Rory McIlroy". Express.
  11. "10Ten Talent launch golf division - 10Ten Talent". www.10tentalent.com.
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