Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Early life

Wall was born and raised in

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recr ...

. He 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Art served in the Army Air Forces and Dewey in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. Dewey was killed at the age of 20 in October 1944 when his submarine USS ''Shark'' was sunk in the Pacific Ocean near

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Amateur career

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

Professional career

Wall won 14 titles on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

, including four in 1959. That year he was chosen as the

PGA Player of the Year The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

, and also won the money title and

Vardon Trophy The Vardon Trophy is awarded by the PGA of America to the PGA Tour's leader in scoring average. When the award was first given in 1937, it was awarded on the basis of a points system. No award was given from 1942–1946 due to World War II. In ...

for lowest scoring average. His most notable career achievement was his victory at the Masters. In the final round in 1959, he birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 66 and overtake

Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated a ...

and defending champion

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. He was a member of three United States Ryder Cup teams:

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

, and

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

. Wall is also notable for sinking 45 holes-in-one in his playing career (including casual rounds), a world record for many years.

Final win

Wall's final tour win came as a grandfather at age 51 years 7 months at the

Greater Milwaukee Open The Greater Milwaukee Open was a regular golf tournament in Wisconsin on the PGA Tour. For 42 years, it was played annually in the Milwaukee area, the final sixteen editions in the north suburb of Brown Deer at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course. U. ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, which was his first tour win in

nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

years.

Death

Wall died at the age of 77 from respiratory failure after a lengthy illness. He is buried at

Glen Dyberry Cemetery Glen Dyberry Cemetery is located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Description The cemetery, alongside the Dyberry Creek, was granted organization in 1854 and features meandering pathways, hillside plots, and many ornamented burial markers. The cemete ...

Amateur wins

*1947 Pennsylvania Amateur *1949 Pennsylvania Amateur

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (14)

PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)

Caribbean Tour wins (7)

* 1963

Caracas Open The Venezuela Open or Abierto de Venezuela is a men's professional golf tournament. It has only been staged intermittently since 1957, 2019 being the 35th edition of the event. Al Geiberger, Art Wall Jr., David Graham, Roberto De Vicenzo and Tony ...

* 1964

Maracaibo Open Invitational The Maracaibo Open Invitational was a golf tournament in Venezuela played from 1960 to 1974. It was part of the Caribbean Tour. The event was played at Maracaibo Country Club in Maracaibo, Venezuela. In the 1970s the event was sponsored by Ford. ...

Puerto Rico Open The Puerto Rico Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was first played in 2008. It is the only PGA Tour event ever held in Puerto Rico. The tournament is played at the Coco Beach Golf Course (previously Trump International ...

, Los Lagartos Open * 1965

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 1 ...

* 1966

Latin American wins (3)

* 1964 Ciudad Baranquilla Open, Mexican Open * 1966

Other wins (5)

*1956 Philadelphia PGA Championship *1962 Philadelphia PGA Championship *1963 Philadelphia PGA Championship *1965 Philadelphia PGA Championship *1971 Philadelphia PGA Championship

Other senior wins (2)

*1980

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

(with

Tommy Bolt Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

) *1996

- Demaret Division (with

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Wall never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

.''
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

*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1972 PGA – 1976 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

References

External links

Duke University Athletics Hall of Fame
– Art Wall Jr.

– Art Wall

– Art Wall Jr. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wall, Art Jr. American male golfers Duke Blue Devils men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Honesdale, Pennsylvania 1923 births 2001 deaths