William (Bill) Sheehan was a force on the fairways of Iowa in the early 1900s. From 1909-1912 he captured the Iowa Amateur three times (09, 11, 12). During the same timeframe he was the Des Moines City Champion (1909-1912), including a 7&6 win over Fred Carr for this fourth title in a row in 1912 at Waveland Golf Course.

In 1908 he was medalist in the stroke play qualifying for the Des Moines City Tournament at the age of 16.  That was the same year he graduated from West High School.

His four Des Moines Men’s City titles are third all-time behind Jon Brown and Bob McKee.  He was especially dominant during his time, especially when you consider how few tournaments there were to play in back then.

Following his win in the Iowa Amateur in 1912, Sheehan moved to South Dakota, where he continued his terrific golf.  He won two South Dakota Amateur titles (1922 and 1926) and a Black Hills Open (1924), while not even having a golf course in his hometown of Winner, SD.  Sheehan would move back to Des Moines in 1931 where he continued to play competitive golf into his 70’s.

He passed away Thursday, July 16, 1970 at the age of 78.

• 3-time Iowa Amateur Champion: 1909, 11, 12
• 4-time Des Moines City Champion: 1909, 10, 11, 12
• Trans-Mississippi Runner-up: 1910
• 2-time South Dakota Amateur Champion: 1922, 26