Art_Wall_Jr.
Art Wall Jr.
American professional golfer (1923–2001)
Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1959.[1][2][3]
| Art Wall Jr. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wall at the 1959 Buick Open | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Full name | Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. | ||||||
| Born | (1923-11-25)November 25, 1923 Honesdale, Pennsylvania | ||||||
| Died | October 31, 2001(2001-10-31) (aged 77) Scranton, Pennsylvania | ||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||
| Spouse | Jean Louise Miller Wall (1923–2004) | ||||||
| Children | 5 | ||||||
| Career | |||||||
| College | Duke University | ||||||
| Status | Professional | ||||||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Senior PGA Tour | ||||||
| Professional wins | 31 | ||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||
| PGA Tour | 14 | ||||||
| Other | 17 | ||||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||||||
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1959 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T5: 1961 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T9: 1967 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | DNP | ||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
Art Wall Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ |  U.S. Army Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Wall was born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He 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 served in the Army Air Forces[6] and Dewey in the Navy. Dewey was killed at the age of 20 in October 1944 when his submarine USS Shark was sunk in the Pacific Ocean near Taiwan.[7]
Wall won the Pennsylvania Amateur in 1947 and 1949.[8] He attended Duke University[9] and graduated in 1949 with a business degree.
Wall won 14 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.[10] His most notable career achievement was his victory at the Masters.[11][12] In the final round in 1959, he birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 66 and overtake Cary Middlecoff and defending champion Arnold Palmer.[9][11][13]
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][10][14]
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 was his first tour win in nine years.[15][16][17]
Wall died at the age of 77 from respiratory failure after a lengthy illness.[9] He is buried at Glen Dyberry Cemetery in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
- 1947 Pennsylvania Amateur[8]
- 1949 Pennsylvania Amateur[8]
PGA Tour wins (14)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (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 (2) | 70-64-70-65=269 | −19 | Playoff | Gardner Dickinson, Bill Trombley |
| 4 | Mar 10, 1957 | Pensacola Open | 70-68-69-66=273 | −15 | 2 strokes |  Peter Thomson |
| 5 | Jul 6, 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | 65-67-68-69=269 | −15 | 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; Stewart: −2 (68), Snead: −2 (68), Ford: E (70), Wall: +2 (72) |
| 2 | 1953 | Fort Wayne Open | Cary Middlecoff |
Won 18-hole playoff; Wall: −2 (70), Middlecoff: E (72) |
| 3 | 1956 | Fort Wayne Open | Gardner Dickinson, Bill Trombley |
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 |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | Dow Finsterwald |
Won 18-hole playoff; Wall: −1 (71), Finsterwald: +1 (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: −6 (65), Wall: −2 (69) |
| 10 | 1971 | Canadian Open | Lee Trevino |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Caribbean Tour wins (7)
Latin American wins (3)
- 1964 Ciudad Baranquilla Open,[18] Mexican Open[18]
- 1966 Caracas Open
Other wins (5)
Other senior wins (2)
- 1980 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Tommy Bolt)
- 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Doug Ford)
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 | T34 | 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 | WD | CUT | T21 | CUT | T45 | CUT | T49 | T22 | T40 | |
| U.S. Open | T43 | T11 | T40 | T9 | T50 | |||||
| PGA Championship | T39 | T5 | T23 | T8 | 58 | 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 | 31 | 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 | 13 | 11 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 35 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1972 PGA – 1976 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
Professional
- Gundelfinger, Phil (April 6, 1959). "Wall's sensational rally takes Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 26.
- "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. ISBN 9780313284311.
- "William Riefler Wall". On Eternal Patrol. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- "Amateur Championship – Past Champions". Pennsylvania Golf Association. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- "Art Wall Jr. – Golfer, 77". The New York Times. November 1, 2001. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- "Art Wall Jr". Autograph Magazine. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- 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?.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - Bunch, Ken (July 7, 1975). "Old tiger Wall on prowl with GMO win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link]
- "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.
- Trenham, Peter. "A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members, 1960–1969" (PDF). Philadelphia PGA.
- Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame – Art Wall Jr.
- GolfCompendium.com – Art Wall
- Trenham Golf History – Art Wall Jr.
- Art Wall Jr. at Find a Grave