Art Wall Jr.
| Art Wall Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Wall at the 1959 Buick Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. |
| Born |
November 25, 1923 Honesdale, Pennsylvania |
| Died |
October 31, 2001 (aged 77) Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality |
 |
| Spouse |
Jean Louise Miller Wall (1923–2004) |
| Children | 2 sons, 3 daughters |
| Career | |
| College | Duke University |
| Status | Professional |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 29 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 14 |
| Other | 15 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1959 |
| U.S. Open | T9: 1967 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T5: 1961 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| PGA Player of the Year | 1959 |
| PGA Tour leading money winner | 1959 |
| Vardon Trophy | 1959 |
| Art Wall Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |
|
| Service/ |
 |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, the winner of the Masters Tournament in 1959.[1][2][3]
Early years
Born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, Wall and his younger brother "Dewey" caddied for their parents, starting around age ten, and began playing shortly after.[4][5]
The brothers served in the military during World War II, Art in the Army Air Forces,[6] and Dewey in the Navy: he was killed at age 20 in October 1944 when his submarine USS Shark was sunk in the Pacific near Taiwan.[7]
Wall played collegiate golf at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina,[8] and graduated in 1949 with a business degree.
PGA Tour
Wall won fourteen titles on the PGA Tour, including four in 1959. That year he was chosen as the PGA Player of the Year, and also won the money title and Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average.[9] His most notable career achievement was his victory in 1959 at the Masters.[10][11] In the final round, he birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 66 and overtake Cary Middlecoff and defending champion Arnold Palmer.[8][10][12]
He was a member of three United States Ryder Cup teams: 1957, 1959, and 1961. Wall is also notable for sinking 45 holes-in-one in his playing career (including casual rounds), a world record for many years.[2][9][13]
Final win
Wall's final tour win came as a grandfather at age 51 years 7 months at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1975, which his first tour win in nine years.[14][15][16] Since this win 43 years ago, no older player has won on tour; the closest was Davis Love III at age 51 years 4 months in 2015. The oldest remains Sam Snead, who was nearly 53 in 1965 at his 82nd and final tour win at the Greater Greensboro Open.[17]
Death
Wall died at age 77 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, of respiratory failure after a lengthy illness,[8] and is buried at Glen Dyberry Cemetery in Honesdale.
Professional wins (29)
PGA Tour wins (14)
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour events (13) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 17, 1953 | Fort Wayne Open | 66-66-68-65=265 | −23 | Playoff | |
| 2 | Apr 25, 1954 | Tournament of Champions | 69-66-70-73=278 | −10 | 6 strokes | |
| 3 | Sep 16, 1956 | Fort Wayne Open | 70-64-70-65=269 | −19 | Playoff | |
| 4 | Mar 10, 1957 | Pensacola Open | 70-68-69-66=273 | −15 | 2 strokes |  |
| 5 | Jul 6, 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | 65-67-68-69=269 | −11 | Playoff | |
| 6 | Jul 27, 1958 | Eastern Open Invitational | 69-69-71-67=276 | −12 | Playoff | |
| 7 | Jan 18, 1959 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | 69-65-70-75=279 | −9 | 2 strokes | |
| 8 | Mar 30, 1959 | Azalea Open Invitational | 72-66-71-73=282 | −6 | 3 strokes | |
| 9 | Apr 5, 1959 | Masters Tournament | 73-74-71-66=284 | −4 | 1 stroke | |
| 10 | Jul 6, 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | 71-67-72-72=282 | −6 | Playoff | |
| 11 | Jul 9, 1960 | Canadian Open | 66-67-67-69=269 | −19 | 6 strokes | |
| 12 | Jan 12, 1964 | San Diego Open Invitational | 71-65-68-70=274 | −6 | 2 strokes | |
| 13 | Aug 21, 1966 | Insurance City Open Invitational | 65-64-69-68=266 | −18 | 2 strokes | |
| 14 | Jul 5, 1975 | Greater Milwaukee Open | 67-67-67-70=271 | −17 | 1 stroke | |
PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1953 | Greater Greensboro Open | |
Stewart won with par on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff 18-hole playoff (Stewart:68, Snead:68, Ford:70, Wall:72) |
| 2 | 1953 | Fort Wayne Open | |
Won 18-hole playoff (Wall:70, Middlecoff:72) |
| 3 | 1956 | Fort Wayne Open | |
Wall won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 5 | 1958 | Eastern Open Invitational | |
Wall won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | |
Won 18-hole playoff (Wall:71, Finsterwald:73) |
| 7 | 1960 | Western Open |  |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 8 | 1962 | Insurance City Open Invitational | |
Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole |
| 9 | 1967 | Canadian Open | |
Lost 18-hole playoff (Casper:65, Wall:69) |
| 10 | 1971 | Canadian Open | |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins (13)
- 1956 Philadelphia PGA Championship
- 1962 Philadelphia PGA Championship
- 1963 Venezuela Open, Philadelphia PGA Championship
- 1964 Mexican Open, Maracaibo Open Invitational (Venezuela), Puerto Rico Open
- 1965 Panama Open, Maracaibo Open Invitational (Venezuela), Philadelphia PGA Championship
- 1966 Venezuela Open, Maracaibo Open Invitational (Venezuela)
- 1971 Philadelphia PGA Championship
Other senior wins (2)
- 1980 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Tommy Bolt)
- 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Doug Ford)
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Masters Tournament | 6 shot deficit | −4 (73-74-71-66=284) | 1 stroke | .svg.png){kind=small} |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 38 | CUT | T6 | 1 | ||||
| U.S. Open | 47 | T26 | CUT | T16 | CUT | CUT | WD | |
| PGA Championship | R32 | R64 | T11 | T25 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T21 | CUT | T45 | CUT | T49 | T22 | T40 | ||
| U.S. Open | T43 | T11 | T40 | T9 | T50 | |||||
| PGA Championship | T39 | T5 | T23 | T8 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | T27 | CUT | T37 | T37 | T15 | T28 | T35 | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T45 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | T24 | T50 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 51 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | |||||||||
| PGA Championship |
Note: Wall never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 15 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 9 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 10 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 56 | 34 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1972 PGA – 1976 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
See also
References
- ↑ Gundelfinger, Phil (April 6, 1959). "Wall's sensational rally takes Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 26.
- 1 2 "Art Wall Jr., 77; golfer had 40 holes in one". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 1, 2001. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ↑ Passov, Joe (September 24, 2009). "50 years ago, game's best player was Art Wall, not Arnold Palmer". Golf.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ↑ "Art Wall, Jr.: still living the game". Tucson Citizen. (Arizona). (part 1). May 3, 1994. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ↑ "Art Wall, Jr.: still living the game". Tucson Citizen. (Arizona). (part 2). May 3, 1994. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ↑ Porter, David L. (1995). "Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: 1992-1995 (Art Wall)". Greenwood Press. p. 574.
- ↑ "William Riefler Wall". On Eternal Patrol. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- 1 2 3 "Art Wall Jr. – Golfer, 77". The New York Times. November 1, 2001. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- 1 2 "Art Wall Jr". Autograph Magazine. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- 1 2 Brown, Gwilym (April 13, 1959). "Wall was wondrous". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- ↑ Wright, Alfred (January 18, 1960). "The young pros go after the veterans". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
- ↑ "Wall birdies five of final 6; wins Masters in epic finish". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 6, 1959. p. 10.
- ↑ Kindred, Dave (October 8, 2007). Do you believe her?. ESPN.
- ↑ Bunch, Ken (July 7, 1975). "Old tiger Wall on prowl with GMO win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
- ↑ "Art Wall a winner at Milwaukee". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 1C.
- ↑ "I don't think 51 is old - golfer Art Wall". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 4C.
- ↑ "Snead eyes Masters title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 5, 1965. p. 2B.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Wall Jr.. |
- Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame – Art Wall Jr.
- ThoghtCo.com – Art Wall
- Trenham Golf History – Art Wall Jr.
- Art Wall Jr. at Find a Grave
Art Wall Jr. in the Ryder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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