Art Wall Jr.


Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. was an American professional golfer, the winner of the Masters Tournament

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.
The brothers served in the military during World War II, Art in the Army Air Forces, and Dewey in the Navy: he was killed at age 20 in October 1944 when his submarine USS Shark was sunk in the Pacific
Wall played collegiate golf at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, 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. His most notable career achievement was his victory in 1959 at In the final round, he birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 66 and overtake Cary Middlecoff and defending champion
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, a world record for

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 Since this win, 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

Death

Wall died at age 77 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, of respiratory failure after a lengthy illness, and is buried at Glen Dyberry Cemetery in Honesdale.

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (14)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Aug 17, 1953Fort Wayne Open66-66-68-65=265−23Playoff Cary Middlecoff
2Apr 25, 1954Tournament of Champions69-66-70-73=278−106 strokes Al Besselink, Lloyd Mangrum
3Sep 16, 1956Fort Wayne Open 70-64-70-65=269−19Playoff Gardner Dickinson, Bill Trombley
4Mar 10, 1957Pensacola Open70-68-69-66=273−152 strokes Peter Thomson
5Jul 6, 1958Rubber City Open Invitational65-67-68-69=269−15Playoff Dow Finsterwald
6Jul 27, 1958Eastern Open Invitational69-69-71-67=276−12Playoff Jack Burke Jr., Bob Rosburg
7Jan 18, 1959Bing Crosby National Pro-Am69-65-70-75=279−92 strokes Jimmy Demaret, Gene Littler
8Mar 30, 1959Azalea Open Invitational72-66-71-73=282−63 strokes Mike Souchak
9Apr 5, 1959Masters Tournament73-74-71-66=284−41 stroke Cary Middlecoff
10Jul 6, 1959Buick Open Invitational71-67-72-72=282−6Playoff Dow Finsterwald
11Jul 9, 1960Canadian Open66-67-67-69=269−196 strokes Bob Goalby, Jay Hebert
12Jan 12, 1964San Diego Open Invitational71-65-68-70=274−62 strokes Tony Lema, Bob Rosburg
13Aug 21, 1966Insurance City Open Invitational65-64-69-68=266−182 strokes Wes Ellis
14Jul 5, 1975Greater Milwaukee Open67-67-67-70=271−171 stroke Gary McCord

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11953Greater Greensboro Open Doug Ford, Sam Snead,
Earl Stewart
Stewart won with par on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Stewart: −2,
Snead: −2,
Ford: E,
Wall: +2
21953Fort Wayne Open Cary MiddlecoffWon 18-hole playoff;
Wall: −2,
Middlecoff: E
31956Fort Wayne Open Gardner Dickinson, Bill TrombleyWall won with birdie on first extra hole
41958Rubber City Open Invitational Dow FinsterwaldWon with birdie on second extra hole
51958Eastern Open Invitational Jack Burke Jr., Bob RosburgWon with birdie on first extra hole
61959Buick Open Invitational Dow FinsterwaldWon 18-hole playoff;
Wall: −1,
Finsterwald: +1
71960Western Open Stan LeonardLost to birdie on first extra hole
81962Insurance City Open Invitational Bob GoalbyLost to birdie on seventh extra hole
91967Canadian Open Billy CasperLost 18-hole playoff;
Casper: −6,
Wall: −2
101971Canadian Open Lee TrevinoLost to birdie on first extra hole

Caribbean Tour wins (7)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

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