Art Wall Jr.
Art Wall Jr. | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. |
Born |
Honesdale, Pennsylvania | November 25, 1923
Died |
October 31, 2001 77) Scranton, Pennsylvania | (aged
Nationality | United States |
Spouse |
Jean Louise Miller Wall (1923–2004) |
Children | 2 sons, 3 daughters |
Career | |
College | Duke University |
Status | Professional |
Former tour(s) | 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 |
Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer.
Early years
Born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, Wall played collegiate golf at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina,[1] 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.[2] His most notable career achievement was his victory in 1959 at the Masters Tournament. 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.[1] 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][3]
Final win
Wall's final tour win came at age 51 at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1975, his first tour win in nine years.[4][5] Since this win 41 years ago, no older player has won on tour; the closest was Fred Funk at age 50 in 2007. The oldest remains Sam Snead, who was nearly 53 in 1965 at his 82nd and final tour win at the Greater Greensboro Open.[6]
Death
Wall died at age 77 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, of respiratory failure after a lengthy illness,[1] 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 | Cary Middlecoff |
2 | Apr 25, 1954 | Tournament of Champions | 69-66-70-73=278 | −10 | 6 strokes | Al Besselink, Lloyd Mangrum |
3 | Sep 16, 1956 | Fort Wayne Open | 70-64-70-65=269 | −19 | Playoff | Gardner Dickinson, Bill Trombley |
4 | Mar 10, 1957 | Pensacola Open Invitational | 70-68-69-66=273 | −15 | 2 strokes | Peter Thomson |
5 | Jul 6, 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | 65-67-68-69=269 | −11 | Playoff | Dow Finsterwald |
6 | Jul 27, 1958 | Eastern Open Invitational | 69-69-71-67=276 | −12 | Playoff | Jack Burke Jr., Bob Rosburg |
7 | Jan 18, 1959 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | 69-65-70-75=279 | −9 | 2 strokes | Jimmy Demaret, Gene Littler |
8 | Mar 30, 1959 | Azalea Open Invitational | 72-66-71-73=282 | −6 | 3 strokes | Mike Souchak |
9 | Apr 5, 1959 | Masters Tournament | 73-74-71-66=284 | −4 | 1 stroke | Cary Middlecoff |
10 | Jul 6, 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | 71-67-72-72=282 | −6 | Playoff | Dow Finsterwald |
11 | Jul 9, 1960 | Canadian Open | 66-67-67-69=269 | −19 | 6 strokes | Bob Goalby, Jay Hebert |
12 | Jan 12, 1964 | San Diego Open Invitational | 71-65-68-70=274 | −6 | 2 strokes | Tony Lema, Bob Rosburg |
13 | Aug 21, 1966 | Insurance City Open Invitational | 65-64-69-68=266 | −18 | 2 strokes | Wes Ellis |
14 | Jul 5, 1975 | Greater Milwaukee Open | 67-67-67-70=271 | −17 | 1 stroke | Gary McCord |
PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1953 | Greater Greensboro Open | Doug Ford, Sam Snead, Earl Stewart | 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 | Cary Middlecoff | Won 18-hole playoff (Wall:70, Middlecoff:72) |
3 | 1956 | Fort Wayne Open | Gardner Dickinson, Bill Trombley | Wall won with birdie on first extra hole |
4 | 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | Dow Finsterwald | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
5 | 1958 | Eastern Open Invitational | Jack Burke Jr., Bob Rosburg | Wall won with birdie on first extra hole |
6 | 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | Dow Finsterwald | Won 18-hole playoff (Wall:71, Finsterwald:73) |
7 | 1960 | Western Open | Stan Leonard | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
8 | 1962 | Insurance City Open Invitational | Bob Goalby | Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole |
9 | 1967 | Canadian Open | Billy Casper | Lost 18-hole playoff (Casper:65, Wall:69) |
10 | 1971 | Canadian Open | Lee Trevino | 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 | Cary Middlecoff |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 38 | CUT | T6 | 1 |
U.S. Open | 47 | T26 | CUT | T16 | CUT | CUT | DNP | WD |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R32 | R64 | T11 | T25 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | CUT | T21 | CUT | T45 | CUT | T49 | T22 | T40 |
U.S. Open | T43 | DNP | T11 | T40 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T9 | T50 | DNP |
PGA Championship | T39 | T5 | T23 | T8 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 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 | DNP | CUT | DNP | T45 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | T24 | DNP | DNP | T50 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 51 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT | CUT |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Note: Wall never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
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
- 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.
- ↑ Kindred, Dave (October 8, 2007). Do you believe her?. ESPN.
- ↑ "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
- Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame – Art Wall Jr.
- Art Wall Jr. at Find a Grave