Quick Facts
SagittariusBiography
Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, the winner of the Masters Tournament in 1959.
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 near Taiwan.
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 the Masters. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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)
| 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 | 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. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(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 18-hole playoff (Stewart:68, Snead:68, Ford:70, Wall:72) |
| 2 | 1953 | Fort Wayne Open | Cary Middlecoff | Won 18-hole playoff (Wall:70, Middlecoff: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:71, Finsterwald: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:65, Wall:69) |
| 10 | 1971 | Canadian Open | Lee Trevino | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Major championship is shown in bold.
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 Baranquilla 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 (with Tommy Bolt)
- 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Doug Ford)
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Masters Tournament | 6 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.
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
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 15 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 9 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 10 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 56 | 34 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1972 PGA – 1976 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
