1959
Golf News and Highlights Art Wall, Jr.,
was the leading money winner in professional golf
in 1959, collecting $53,167. He won five major
tournaments, including the Masters, and with an
average of 70.35 strokes per round for 119
rounds, was also the Vardon Trophy leader; he was
also voted the PGA Player-of-the-Year.
Betsy Rawls led the women's ranks with 10
tournament victories, winnings of $26,774 (both
records), and a 74.03 average for 95 rounds that
put her in second place in this category behind
Louise Suggs, who had a 73.58 average for 76
rounds.
Ken Daly won the $35,000 Los Angeles
Open on January 5.
Art Wall, Jr., won the Masters
Tournament and a $15,000 prize at
Augusta, Georgia, on April 4. Wall had gone into
the final round six strokes behind Arnold Palmer
and Stan Leonard, the co-leaders, but stormed
back with a 66 that included five birdies in the
last six holes, and ending with a four-round
total of 284 and a one-stroke advantage over Cary
Middlecoff, who as late as the 72nd hole had a
chance for a tie.
Arnold Palmer won the Oklahoma City
Open on May 11 with a total of 273.
The U.S. Walker Cup team beat the British team
9 to 3 at Muirfield, Scotland, on May 16.
Sam Snead garnered a place in
the Guinness Book of World Records on May 16 when
he shot a 59 in The Greenbrier Open at The
Greenbrier Club in White Sulphur Springs, West
Virginia.
John Dawson shot a 143 total over 36 holes to
win the U.S. Seniors' Championship
in Rye, New York, on June 5, his second straight
win in the tournament.
Bill Casper, Jr., won the U.S. Open
and a $12,000 prize at Mamaroneck, New York, on
June 14.
Judy Eller won the National Women's
Collegiate Golf Championship on June 19
with a 3 and 2 victory over Julie Hull at Chapel
Hill.
Mickey Wright retained the U.S.
Women's Open Championship in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, on June 27.
Ken Venturi took home $9,000 for his win in
the Chicago Open on June 28.
Gary Player won the British Open
on July3, in Muirfield, Scotland.
Mike Souchak won the Western Golf
Association Championship on July 12 at
the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Field Club course
with a 72-hole total of 272.
Robert R. Rosburg won the Professional
Golfers Assocition of America Championship,
August 2, on the Minneapolis (Minesota) Golf Club
course with a 277 score for 72 holes.
Betsy Rawls won the Women's Western
Open at Seattle, Washington, on August
16 with a 293 score.
The U.S. Amateur Championship
was won by Jack Nicklaus in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, on September 19.
The U.S. Senior Women's Golf
Association Championship was won by Mrs.
Harrison Flippin on September 30, for the fifth
successive year.
The American team (Sam Snead, Bob Rosburg, Art
Wall, Jr., Doug Ford, Mike Souchak, Dow
Finsterwald, Cary Middlecoff, Julius Boros, Jay
Hebert, and Jack Burke, Jr.) defeated the British
team 8½ to 3½ in the Ryder Cup
matches in Palm Desert, California, November 6-7.
Willie Goggin won the U.S. Senior
Championship in Palm Springs,
California, December 7, with a 284 score.
In
the Year 1959
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