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

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

Early life and amateur career

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. The brothers served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

. 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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Wall won the Pennsylvania Amateur in 1947 and 1949. He attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and graduated in 1949 with a business degree.

Professional career

Wall won 14 titles on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, 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 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 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. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

. He was a member of three United States

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

teams:

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, 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.

Final win

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

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 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

years.

Death

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

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 * 1964 Maracaibo Open Invitational, Puerto Rico Open, Los Lagartos Open * 1965 Panama Open, Maracaibo Open Invitational * 1966 Maracaibo Open Invitational

Latin American wins (3)

* 1964 Ciudad Barranquilla Open, Mexican Open * 1966 Caracas Open

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 was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...

(with Tommy Bolt) *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 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

)

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 th ...

.''
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)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

(winners), 1961 (winners)

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 20th-century American sportsmen