Edward A. Ball (4 November 1939 – 17 April 1995) was an Australian

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 ...

. He won several dozen significant tournaments in his career.

Early life

Ball was born in

Hornsby, New South Wales Hornsby is a suburb on the North Shore (Sydney), Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the Local government ...

. He had a decorated amateur career, including a win at the

Australian Amateur The Australian Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It has been played annually since 1894, except for the war years, and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, from 2021 it has ...

in 1960, along with several other victories.

Professional career

Ball turned professional in the early 1960s and found immediate success. He won his first title in 1962 at the

Queensland Open The Queensland Open, originally called the Queensland Championships, and also known as the Queensland Lawn Tennis Championships, Queensland Grass Court Championships and the Queensland State Championships, was a tennis tournament played in Bris ...

. He added numerous wins after that internationally. He staged one of Australian golf's greatest comebacks to win the

Wills Masters The Wills Masters was a golf tournament held in Australia and played annually from 1963 to 1975. The Wills Classic had been held in Australia from 1960 and 1962. Total prize money from 1963 to 1965 was A£4,000. In 1966 and 1967 it was A$8,000 ...

in 1973. In 1974, he became the first player to successfully defend the Wills title. He shot rounds of 70, 69, 72 and 70 at

The Australian Golf Club The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 22 Australian Ope ...

in Sydney to win by two strokes; this is said to be the greatest achievement in his career.

Amateur wins

*1960

, New South Wales Champion of Champions,

New South Wales Amateur The New South Wales Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of New South Wales, Australia. It was first played in 1898. History In early 1898 Lord Hampden, the Governor of New South Wales, presented a solid silver cup to th ...

Professional wins (20)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australia wins (5)

PGA Tour of Australia playoff record (0–3)

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (2)

Other Australian wins (10)

*1962

* 1964 Wagga City Open, City of Sydney Open, Tasmanian Open, New South Wales Open *1965 Lakes Open * 1968 Queensland PGA Championship *1970 City of Sydney Open *1972 South Australian Open *1977 New South Wales PGA Championship

Other wins (1)

''this list is incomplete'' *1977 Papua New Guinea Open

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing Australia):

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

* Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1960 (winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(representing Australia):

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

References

Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers People from the North Shore, Sydney 1939 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-golf-bio-stub