Paul Runyan-the Arkansas farm boy who stood five feet, six inches
and weighed 130 pounds-shocked the golf world by defeating long and
lean, sweet-swinging Sam Snead in the finals of the 1938 PGA
Championship, thus earning the nickname "Little Poison." Runyan did
more than beat Snead: he shellacked him as decisively as David
toppled mighty Goliath. His resounding victory was so convincing,
so dominant, that even Snead had to shake his head when it was
finished and wonder how the porkpie-wearing, pint-sized golf pro
had gotten the better of him in the thirty-six-hole final. One
bookmaker made Snead a 10-to-1 favorite before the match. Despite
Snead's physical gifts-he routinely outdrove Runyan by fifty yards
or more-Snead was no match for Runyan, the underdog victor in one
of golf's four major championships. Little Poison is the story of a
man who made a career out of punching above his weight on the golf
course. Runyan won twenty-nine PGA tournaments between 1930 and
1941, as well as another major championship in 1934. Runyan served
in the navy during World War II, joining Snead and other prominent
professionals who played exhibition matches to entertain troops and
help raise money. After the war he played sparingly-but
successfully-and focused on his career as an instructor, teaching
his revolutionary short-game techniques. Little Poison follows
Runyan throughout these stages of his life, from anonymity to
stardom and into golf mythology. At the heart of Runyan's story is
his Depression-era grit. He believed passionately that proper
technique and relentless hard work would outlast talent and brawn.
Americans who emerged from the Great Depression likely had a little
Runyan in them, too, making him the perfect sports hero for the
era. His story began not on the immaculate fairways of a country
club but on a farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas, near a golf course
with oiled sand greens. A disadvantage, some would say-but not
Runyan. On those sand surfaces he developed a sustainable technique
that became the bedrock of his hall of fame career.
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