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Art Wall Jr.

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

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

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

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]

Death

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

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (14)

PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)

Caribbean Tour wins (7)

Latin American wins (3)

Other wins (5)

Other senior wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

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

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

References

  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 2021-08-25.
  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.

External links

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