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Art Wall Jr.

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Art Wall Jr.
Wall at the 1959 Buick Open
Personal information
Full nameArthur Jonathan Wall Jr.
Born(1923-11-25)November 25, 1923
Honesdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 2001(2001-10-31) (aged 77)
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Sporting nationality United States
SpouseJean Louise Miller Wall
(1923–2004)
Children5
Career
CollegeDuke University
StatusProfessional
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Senior PGA Tour
Professional wins31
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour14
Other17
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1959
PGA ChampionshipT5: 1961
U.S. OpenT9: 1967
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
money list winner		1959
PGA Player of the Year1959
Vardon Trophy1959
Art Wall Jr.
Allegiance United States
Service / branch U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service1943–1946
Battles / warsWorld War II

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]

Early life

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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]

Amateur career

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Wall won the Pennsylvania Amateur in 1947 and 1949.[8] He attended Duke University[9] and graduated in 1949 with a business degree.

Professional career

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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

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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]

Death

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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.

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (31)

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PGA Tour wins (14)

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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 United States Cary Middlecoff
2 Apr 25, 1954 Tournament of Champions 69-66-70-73=278 −10 6 strokes United States Al Besselink, United States Lloyd Mangrum
3 Sep 16, 1956 Fort Wayne Open (2) 70-64-70-65=269 −19 Playoff United States Gardner Dickinson, United States Bill Trombley
4 Mar 10, 1957 Pensacola Open 70-68-69-66=273 −15 2 strokes Australia Peter Thomson
5 Jul 6, 1958 Rubber City Open Invitational 65-67-68-69=269 −15 Playoff United States Dow Finsterwald
6 Jul 27, 1958 Eastern Open Invitational 69-69-71-67=276 −12 Playoff United States Jack Burke Jr., United States Bob Rosburg
7 Jan 18, 1959 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am 69-65-70-75=279 −9 2 strokes United States Jimmy Demaret, United States Gene Littler
8 Mar 30, 1959 Azalea Open Invitational 72-66-71-73=282 −6 3 strokes United States Mike Souchak
9 Apr 5, 1959 Masters Tournament 73-74-71-66=284 −4 1 stroke United States Cary Middlecoff
10 Jul 6, 1959 Buick Open Invitational 71-67-72-72=282 −6 Playoff United States Dow Finsterwald
11 Jul 9, 1960 Canadian Open 66-67-67-69=269 −19 6 strokes United States Bob Goalby, United States Jay Hebert
12 Jan 12, 1964 San Diego Open Invitational 71-65-68-70=274 −6 2 strokes United States Tony Lema, United States Bob Rosburg
13 Aug 21, 1966 Insurance City Open Invitational 65-64-69-68=266 −18 2 strokes United States Wes Ellis
14 Jul 5, 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open 67-67-67-70=271 −17 1 stroke United States Gary McCord

PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1953 Greater Greensboro Open United States Doug Ford, United States Sam Snead,
United States 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 United States Cary Middlecoff Won 18-hole playoff;
Wall: −2 (70),
Middlecoff: E (72)
3 1956 Fort Wayne Open United States Gardner Dickinson, United States Bill Trombley Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1958 Rubber City Open Invitational United States Dow Finsterwald Won with birdie on second extra hole
5 1958 Eastern Open Invitational United States Jack Burke Jr., United States Bob Rosburg Won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1959 Buick Open Invitational United States Dow Finsterwald Won 18-hole playoff;
Wall: −1 (71),
Finsterwald: +1 (73)
7 1960 Western Open Canada Stan Leonard Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8 1962 Insurance City Open Invitational United States Bob Goalby Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole
9 1967 Canadian Open United States Billy Casper Lost 18-hole playoff;
Casper: −6 (65),
Wall: −2 (69)
10 1971 Canadian Open United States Lee Trevino Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Caribbean Tour wins (7)

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Latin American wins (3)

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Other wins (5)

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Other senior wins (2)

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Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1959 Masters Tournament 6 shot deficit −4 (73-74-71-66=284) 1 stroke United States Cary Middlecoff

Results timeline

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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.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

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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)

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

References

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  1. ^ Gundelfinger, Phil (April 6, 1959). "Wall's sensational rally takes Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 26.
  2. ^ a b "Art Wall Jr., 77; golfer had 40 holes in one". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 1, 2001. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  3. ^ Passov, Joe (September 24, 2009). "50 years ago, game's best player was Art Wall, not Arnold Palmer". Golf.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "Art Wall, Jr.: still living the game". Tucson Citizen. (Arizona). (part 1). May 3, 1994. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Art Wall, Jr.: still living the game". Tucson Citizen. (Arizona). (part 2). May 3, 1994. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Porter, David L. (1995). Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: 1992-1995 (Art Wall). Greenwood Press. p. 574. ISBN 9780313284311.
  7. ^ "William Riefler Wall". On Eternal Patrol. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Amateur Championship – Past Champions". Pennsylvania Golf Association. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Art Wall Jr. – Golfer, 77". The New York Times. November 1, 2001. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Art Wall Jr". Autograph Magazine. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  11. ^ a b Brown, Gwilym (April 13, 1959). "Wall was wondrous". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  12. ^ Wright, Alfred (January 18, 1960). "The young pros go after the veterans". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
  13. ^ "Wall birdies five of final 6; wins Masters in epic finish". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 6, 1959. p. 10.
  14. ^ Kindred, Dave (October 8, 2007). Do you believe her?. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Bunch, Ken (July 7, 1975). "Old tiger Wall on prowl with GMO win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Art Wall a winner at Milwaukee". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 1C.
  17. ^ "I don't think 51 is old – golfer Art Wall". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 4C.
  18. ^ a b c d e Trenham, Peter. "A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members, 1960–1969" (PDF). Philadelphia PGA.
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