Ted J. Kroll (August 4, 1919 – April 23, 2002) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Kroll was born in

New Hartford, New York New Hartford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the town population was 22,166. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler fam ...

. Kroll served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 opposin ...

and earned three

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

s after being wounded four times. Shortly after the war, he took a job as assistant professional at Philmont Country Club in

Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania Huntingdon Valley is a village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township and Abington Township all in Montgomery County, and in small sections of Upper Southampton Township and Lower S ...

. He began a 34-year

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 k ...

career in 1949. He won eight times on the tour, including three wins in 1956, when he topped the money list with earnings of $72,836. That same year he lost the final of the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

to Jack Burke Jr., 3 and 2. In 1954, Kroll became the third player in PGA Tour history to shoot a 60, joining Al Brosch (1951) and Bill Nary (1952). He had nines of 30-30 at

Brackenridge Park Golf Course Brackenridge Park Golf Course is a historic golf course in San Antonio, Texas and the oldest 18-hole public golf course in Texas. It opened for play in 1916 and was the first inductee into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Brackenridge Park was the ...

during the third round of the

Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

. His 11-under score vaulted him into a tie for sixth going into the final round, where he shot a 2-under 69 over his final 18 holes to tie for ninth. Kroll played on three

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

teams: 1953,

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, and 1957, compiling a 3–1 record. Kroll was married for over 50 years and had four daughters. In his later years he suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He died in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

and is buried in

Florida National Cemetery Florida National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near the city of Bushnell in Sumter County, Florida. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs it encompasses and began interments in 1988. It is now ...

in Bushnell, Florida.

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (8)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–7)

Other wins (3)

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1952 Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with

Lew Worsham Lewis Elmer Worsham, Jr. (October 5, 1917 – October 19, 1990) was an American professional golfer, the U.S. Open champion Life and career Worsham was born on October 5, 1917, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He grew up in Long Island, Vi ...

) *1964 Michigan PGA Championship *1972

Florida Open The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Kroll 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 th ...

.''
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1957 PGA – 1962 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1952 U.S. Open – 1953 U.S. Open)

U.S. national team appearances

: 1953 (winners),

(winners), 1957 *

Hopkins Trophy The Hopkins Trophy was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the United States and Canada. It was played from 1952 to 1956. The Americans won all five contests that were played. The matches were sponsored by ...

: 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroll, Ted American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from Florida United States Army personnel of World War II Neurological disease deaths in Florida Deaths from Parkinson's disease People from New Hartford, New York Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida 1919 births 2002 deaths