Art Wall Jr.

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]

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
DiedOctober 31, 2001(2001-10-31) (aged 77)
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Nationality United States
SpouseJean Louise Miller Wall
(1923–2004)
Children2 sons, 3 daughters
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 Player of the Year1959
PGA Tour
leading money winner		1959
Vardon Trophy1959
Art Wall Jr.
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service1943–1946
Battles/warsWorld War II

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 was his first tour win in nine years.[14][15][16] Since this win 45 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 (31)

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.YearTournamentOpponent(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 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 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)

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)

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1959Masters Tournament6 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 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.

  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
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament1001253015
U.S. Open000013149
The Open Championship00000000
PGA Championship0001271210
Totals10025155634
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1972 PGA – 1976 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
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See also

References
  1. Gundelfinger, Phil (April 6, 1959). "Wall's sensational rally takes Masters". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 26.
  2. "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.
  7. "William Riefler Wall". On Eternal Patrol. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  8. "Art Wall Jr. – Golfer, 77". The New York Times. November 1, 2001. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  9. "Art Wall Jr". Autograph Magazine. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  10. Brown, Gwilym (April 13, 1959). "Wall was wondrous". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
  11. Wright, Alfred (January 18, 1960). "The young pros go after the veterans". Sports Illustrated. p. 38.
  12. "Wall birdies five of final 6; wins Masters in epic finish". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 6, 1959. p. 10.
  13. Kindred, Dave (October 8, 2007). Do you believe her?. ESPN.
  14. Bunch, Ken (July 7, 1975). "Old tiger Wall on prowl with GMO win". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  15. "Art Wall a winner at Milwaukee". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 1C.
  16. "I don't think 51 is old - golfer Art Wall". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. July 7, 1975. p. 4C.
  17. "Snead eyes Masters title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 5, 1965. p. 2B.
  18. Trenham, Peter. "A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members, 1960–1969" (PDF). Philadelphia PGA.
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