Johnny Revolta


John F. Revolta was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. He won a major title, the 1935 PGA Championship, and had 18 career wins on tour.

Early life

Revolta was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His family relocated to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1923 when he was twelve. He learned the game as a caddie at the public course in Oshkosh and won the state caddie championship at age 14.

Professional career

Like most professional golfers of his generation, Revolta started out as a club professional. He worked at Swan Lake Country Club in Portage in 1930, Chippewa Elks Golf Club in 1931, Riverside Country Club in Menominee, Michigan 1932–1933, and Tripoli Country Club in Milwaukee 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 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 in 1935 and 1937.
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 by 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.

Personal life

In 1991, Revolta died in Palm Springs, California a month shy of his 80th birthday.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (18)

Major championship is shown in bold.
Source:

Other wins (11)

this list is probably incomplete

Major championships

Wins (1)

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

Results timeline

Tournament1930193119321933193419351936193719381939
Masters TournamentNYFNYFNYFNYFT18T1325T13T18T31
U.S. OpenT15T8T36T14T28T16T22
The Open ChampionshipT32
PGA ChampionshipR32R161R32R32R32R16

Tournament1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
Masters TournamentT27NTNTNTT29T39
U.S. OpenT16WDNTNTNTNT
The Open ChampionshipNTNTNTNTNTNT
PGA ChampionshipR64NTR16R64

Tournament1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
Masters TournamentT421358T60T4975CUTCUTCUT
U.S. OpenT1940CUTT29CUTT30
The Open Championship
PGA ChampionshipR16R128

Tournament196019611962
Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUT
U.S. OpenCUT
The Open Championship
PGA ChampionshipCUT

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
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2