John F. Revolta (April 5, 1911 – March 3, 1991) 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 ...

who played 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 ...

in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. He won a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

title, the 1935 PGA Championship, and had 18 career wins on tour. Born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, Revolta's family relocated to

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

in 1923 when he was twelve. He learned the game as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

at the public course in Oshkosh and won the state caddie championship at age 14. Like most professional golfers of his generation, Revolta started out as a club professional. He worked at Swan Lake Country Club in

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

in 1930, Chippewa Elks Golf Club in 1931, Riverside Country Club in

Menominee, Michigan Menominee ( ) is a city and the county seat of Menominee County, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The population was 8,488 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Menominee County, Mi ...

1932–1933, and Tripoli Country Club in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

from 1934 to 1936. He won the Wisconsin State Open four times in a six-year period; he was not eligible for two years while working in Michigan. Revolta was a member of the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1952. Revolta's best year as a tour pro was 1935, when he won five tournaments and led the PGA Tour's money list. He defeated

Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1 ...

5 & 4 in 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. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

held at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club and also won the

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

, the era's "fifth major". He also played in the

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 ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Revolta was known as the "Iron Master" because of his outstanding short game. Regarding his bunker play in particular, short game master

Paul Runyan Paul Scott Runyan (July 12, 1908 – March 17, 2002) was an American professional golfer. Among the world's best players in the mid-1930s, he won two PGA Championships and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Runyan was also a golf instruc ...

said Revolta "led the class f outstanding bunker playersby a big margin. His skill from sand simply left me aghast." His instruction book, ''Johnny Revolta's Short Cuts to Better Golf'', first published in 1949, is still in print today. Revolta was the head professional at Evanston Golf Club in

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

, from 1935 to 1966, and continued to teach there during summers into the late 1980s. He died in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

in 1991, a month shy of his 80th birthday.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (18)

*1933 (1) Miami Open *1934 (2) St. Paul Open, Wisconsin Open *1935 (5)

, Sarasota Open, Wisconsin Open,

Inverness Invitational Four-Ball The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Format The tournament featured an unusual team round robin format. From 1935 to 1951, the field co ...

(with Henry Picard) *1936 (1) Thomasville Open *1937 (2) Miami Biltmore Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Henry Picard) *1938 (4) Sacramento Open, St. Petersburg Open, St. Paul Open, Columbia Open *1939 (1)

(with Henry Picard) *1941 (1) San Francisco National Match Play Open *1944 (1) Texas Open Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (11)

''this list is probably incomplete'' *1930 Wisconsin State Open *1931 Wisconsin State Open *1935 Miami International Four-Ball (with Henry Picard) *1936

Waterloo Open Golf Classic The Waterloo Jaycees Greater Waterloo Open Golf Classic is the oldest and largest golf tournament in the state of Iowa. It has been played annually since 1934, and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009. It is traditionally played over the course ...

, Miami International Four-Ball (with Henry Picard), Illinois PGA Championship *1937 Illinois PGA Championship *1938 Illinois PGA Championship *1941 Illinois PGA Championship *1944 Pro-Lady Victory National (with

Patty Berg Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006) was an American professional golfer. She was a founding member and the first president of the LPGA. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a fem ...

) *1947 Illinois PGA Championship

Major championships

Wins (1)

''Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958''

Results timeline

NYF = tournament not yet founded
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF, F = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 24 (1933 U.S. Open – 1940 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1934 U.S. Open – 1934 PGA)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolta, Johnny American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships American golf writers Golfers from St. Louis American people of Italian descent 1911 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen