William C. Campbell

Who was William C. Campbell?

William Cammack Campbell, often known as Bill Campbell or William C. Campbell, was an American amateur golfer and two-time President of the United States Golf Association. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.

Campbell was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and graduated from Princeton University in 1947 with a degree in history.

In his amateur golfing career, Campbell played in 37 U.S. Amateurs, including 33 consecutively from 1941–77, and won the event in 1964. He played on eight Walker Cup teams from 1951 to 1975, captaining the 1955 team, and finished with an overall record of 11-4-3. He was runner-up in the 1954 British Amateur. He was three times runner-up in the Canadian Amateur Championship, in 1952, 1954, and 1965. He won three West Virginia Opens, four North and South Amateurs, and fifteen West Virginia Amateur titles. He won the U.S. Senior Amateur in 1979 and 1980, and finished 2nd overall in the 1980 U.S. Senior Open.

Campbell served on the Executive Committee of the USGA from 1962–1965, and again from 1977-1984. He was the treasurer in 1978-1979, vice-president in 1980-1981, then served as president in 1982 and 1983. In 1987, he was named Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, just the third American to hold that post, becoming the first person to head both of golf's main governing bodies.