Did you know that a pair of homegrown professionals competed in pair of Ryder Cups?
| Berwick centennial | Honesdale centennial |
Berwick Golf Club’s Mike Souchak and Honesdale Golf Club’s Art Wall, Jr. represented Team U.S.A. in 1959 at Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, Calif. and 1961 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.
The United States team prevailed in both: 8.5–3.5 in 1959, 14.5–9.5 in 1961. Souchak totaled five points, Wall four in their respective appearances. Wall also competed in the 1957 Ryder Cup.
The 1961 affair is of note for what happened to Sam Snead, the team’s playing captain. The PGA suspended and fined Snead for competing in the $10,000 Losantiville Pro-Am in Cincinnati, Ohio, which ran concurrently with the $25,000 Portland Open in Portland, Ore.
“Without a waiver from the tournament sponsor, certain PGA members could not play in a conflicting event. The rule was created by the PGA to protect the tournament sponsors of PGA sanctioned events,” Pete Trenham, the Philadelphia PGA Section historian, writes. “Snead and (Tommy) Bolt had asked for waivers and had been denied. The suspensions were for six months, and the fines were $500. The rules allowed that a PGA TOUR professional did not need a waiver from a tournament sponsor to compete in tournaments in his own PGA Section.”
Following the first round of the Losantiville Pro-Am, Snead received notice via telegram of his suspension. He withdrew prior to the second round.
“Snead maintained that playing in a pro-am was not a violation. He stated that this event was not an individual stroke play event like the Portland Open,” Trenham writes. “But he had been denied a waiver by the Portland Open sponsor. Snead said he would get a lawyer to appeal the suspension and would go to court if necessary.”
The PGA of America announced that Snead was off the Ryder Cup team on Sept. 26. He could appeal the decision, but the next PGA Appeals Committee meeting was scheduled for Nov. 2.
Jerry Barber, winner of the 1959 PGA Championship, replaced Snead as Ryder Cup captain for the United States team. Like Souchak and Wall, Barber carried a GAP connection; he served as Cedarbrook Country Club’s golf professional in 1950 and captured the Pennsylvania Open that year.
GAP Magazine detailed Wall’s Honesdale roots in its Spring 2025 edition.
Souchak grew up at Berwick. The brother of former caddiemaster John Souchak (1929-36), he earned club permeance on July 25, 1959; “Mike Souchak Day” marked the official opening of Berwick’s 18-hole layout, designed by Franklin Meehan.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 130,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
