Al Balding

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Template:Short description Template:Use Canadian English Template:Infobox golfer Allan George Balding (April 29, 1924 – July 30, 2006) was a Canadian professional golfer, who won four events on the PGA Tour. In 1955, he became the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in the United States; Canadians Ken Black (1936 Vancouver Jubilee Open), Jules Huot (1937 General Brock Open) and Pat Fletcher (1954 Canadian Open) had won PGA Tour events in Canada.[1]

Early life and amateur career

Balding was born in Toronto, Ontario on April 29, 1924.Template:Sfn Growing up during the Great Depression, Balding quit school in the 7th grade and began caddying at the nearby Islington golf course, despite not previously golfing before.Template:Sfn Balding enlisted in the Canadian Army at 19 during World War II,[2]Template:Sfn and saw duty in France and Germany.Template:Sfn Balding enlisted thinking that his small stature would land him in the Service Corps, however he was assigned to the 13th Field Battery of the 2nd Artillery division as a driver-mechanic.Template:Sfn He was discharged before the end of the war due to a shoulder injury sustained while "fooling around" on a motorcycle.Template:Sfn After the war in the late 1940s, Balding worked at a Toronto tire manufacturing company,[2] and later at a golf club in Burlington.Template:Sfn He had played golf only occasionally as a youth, but began playing more after the War ended, improving his game rapidly under the instruction of pro Les Franks.Template:Sfn

Professional career

In 1950, Balding became a professional golfer working as a club professional in Toronto.[3] He won his first minor tournament at the age of 26, the Ontario assistant pro championship.Template:Sfn

Balding began on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, winning his first two tournaments in 1952. In 1955, Balding became the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in the United States, when he won the Mayfair Open.Template:Sfn In 1957, Balding decided to play full time on the U.S. tour, winning three events on the tour and finished 6th on the money list with $28,000, the highest of any Canadian at that point, and would not be eclipsed until Mike Weir finished 6th on the money list in 2003.Template:Sfn

Balding would go on to win an impressive number of tournaments in many different venues over a long period of time during his career. He won ten significant events in Canada from 1952 through 1973. He won four tournaments on the PGA Tour, the most of any Canadian to that point. In 1968, in Italy, he won the World Cup team title for Canada (with George Knudson), as well as the individual title.Template:Sfn

Balding's career was slowed by several health issues, requiring shoulder surgery in 1965,Template:Sfn and being diagnosed with blood cancer in the 1970s.Template:Sfn Balding was also very critical of the Canadian golf establishment in the 1970s, noting that there were fewer Canadians on the U.S. tour in the 1970s then when he was active in the 1950s and 1960s.Template:Sfn

He was one of the 40 original seniors on the U.S. Senior PGA Tour in 1980.Template:Sfn

Perhaps the most remarkable win of Balding's career came at the age of 76, when he captured the 2000 Canadian PGA Senior Championship, giving him professional victories in six different decades; this was attained against players as young as age 50.Template:Sfn

Personal life

Balding was the uncle of Canadian auto racing driver Kat Teasdale.[4]

In 2006, Balding died in Mississauga, Ontario from cancer.Template:Sfn

Awards and honors

  • In 1955 and 1957, Balding was named Ontario Athlete of the Year.
  • In 1968, Balding was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
  • In 1984, Balding was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
  • In 1997, Balding was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
  • Balding Court, a street on the former St. Andrew's Golf Club in Toronto is named in his honour (it is north of York Mills Road, between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue).

Professional wins (19)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Dec 18, 1955 Mayfair Inn Open −11 (69-66-64-70=269) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Ed Oliver, Template:Flagicon Mike Souchak

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1959 Memphis Open Template:Flagicon Gary Player, Template:Flagicon Don Whitt Whitt won with par on second extra hole
Balding eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 1961 San Diego Open Invitational Template:Flagicon Arnold Palmer Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1964 Fresno Open Invitational Template:Flagicon George Knudson Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Source:[6]

Canadian wins (11)

Other wins (7)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Masters Tournament T29 T16 T26 27 24 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open T32 T43 T32 T12 T43 T42 T18
The Open Championship T17 T8 9

Note: Balding never played in the PGA Championship.

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  Top 10

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  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 5
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 7
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 7 18 15
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1956 Masters – 1962 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Team appearances

References

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  1. ↑ rcga.org, see Canadian Golf Hall of Fame profiles for Kenneth Black and Julet Huot
  2. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Works cited
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External links

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