Wes Ellis

Wesley Ellis, Jr. (January 27, 1932 – June 4, 1984) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Ellis attended the University of Texas in Austin and was a member of the golf team from 1950–1952. He won the Massingill Trophy in 1950, and was the individual medalist at the Southwest Conference Championship in 1952. [ [http://www.texassports.com/doc_lib/04-05MGolfHistory_01.pdf texassports.com" Longhorns in the Pros"] ]

Ellis won three PGA Tour events. His first win came in 1958 at the Canadian Open. He won by one stroke over Jay Hebert at the Mayfair Golf and Country Club in Edmonton, Alberta. [ [http://www.rcga.org/english/Records/records-details.asp?TID=12 Tournament history from Canadian Open's official site] ] His last win came in 1965 at the San Diego Open in a playoff against golf legend Billy Casper. His victory in San Diego was unique in that Ellis used what is commonly known as a "cross-handed" putting grip; that is, as a right-handed golfer he kept his left hand below his right. Ellis had two top-10 finishes in major championships: a T-9 at the 1956 U.S. Open, and a T-8 at the 1966 U.S. Open.

Ellis, like many pro golfers of his generation, earned his living primarily as a club pro. For many years he was the head pro at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York and lived in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. He died of kidney disease at the age of 52 at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey. [ [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB297BE49362FAF&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=Q5AD5FHWMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "Wes Ellis Jr. obituary] "The Philadelphia Inquirer", June 6, 1984. Accecssed August 2, 2007.] He left behind his wife, Marian, and their four children - three daughters and a son.

PGA Tour wins

*1958 Canadian Open
*1959 Texas Open Invitational
*1965 San Diego Open Invitational

Other wins

*1957 Metropolitan Open
*1961 New Jersey PGA Championship, Metropolitan Open
*1962 New Jersey State Open, New Jersey PGA Championship
*1963 New Jersey State Open, New Jersey PGA Championship, Metropolitan Open
*1964 New Jersey PGA Championship

References

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E4DE123BF935A35755C0A962948260 "Obituary from New York Times archive"]