John F. Revolta (April 5, 1911 – March 3, 1991) was an American professional
golfer who played on the
PGA Tour in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. He won a
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
title, the
1935 PGA Championship
The 1935 PGA Championship was the 18th PGA Championship, held October 17–23 at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Then a match play championship, Johnny Revolta won his only major title, defeating Tommy Armour 5 & 4.
...
, and had 18 career wins on tour.
Born in
St. Louis,
Missouri, Revolta's family relocated to
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
in 1923 when he was twelve.
He learned the game as a
caddie
In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support.
Description
A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...
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 (Canada: ; ) 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 1932–1933, and Tripoli Country Club in
Milwaukee from 1934–1936. 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 1935–1952.
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 5 & 4 in the
PGA Championship held at
Twin Hills Golf & Country Club and also won the
Western Open, 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. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
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 Fe ...
.
Revolta was known as the "Iron Master" because of his outstanding short game. Regarding his bunker play in particular, short game master
Paul Runyan 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, from 1935 to 1966, and continued to teach there during summers into the late 1980s. He died in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (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 Riverside County by land a ...
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
The Saint Paul Open Invitational, which played as the Saint Paul Open from 1930 to 1956, and as the Minnesota Golf Classic from 1966 to 1969, was a PGA Tour event played at Keller Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1930–1966 and 1968, a ...
, Wisconsin Open
*1935 (5) Western Open, Sarasota Open, Wisconsin Open, PGA Championship, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (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
The St. Petersburg Open (russian: Открытый Санкт-Петербург) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tou ...
, St. Paul Open
The Saint Paul Open Invitational, which played as the Saint Paul Open from 1930 to 1956, and as the Minnesota Golf Classic from 1966 to 1969, was a PGA Tour event played at Keller Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1930–1966 and 1968, a ...
, Columbia Open
*1939 (1) Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (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 2008. 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)
*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)
See also
* List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
* List of men's major championships winning golfers
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolta, Johnny
American male golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
Winners of men's major golf championships
Golf writers and broadcasters
Golfers from St. Louis
American people of Italian descent
1911 births
1991 deaths