Al Balding

Who was Al Balding?

Allan George Balding was a Canadian professional golfer, who won four events on the PGA Tour. In 1955 he became the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in the United States; Canadians Ken Black and Jules Huot had won PGA Tour events in Canada in the 1930s.

Balding was born in Toronto, Ontario. He served for three years as a member of the Canadian Army during World War II, and saw duty in France and Germany. After the war in the late 1940s, Balding worked at a Toronto tire manufacturing company. He had played golf only occasionally as a youth, but began playing more after the War ended, improving his game rapidly. Balding became a professional golfer in 1950, working as a club professional in Toronto.

Balding began on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, winning his first two tournaments in 1952. In 1955, Balding became the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in the United States, when he won the Mayfair Open. In 1957, he won three events on the Tour and finished 6th on the money list, the highest of any Canadian at that point.

Balding would go on to win an impressive number of tournaments in many different venues over a long period of time during his career. He won ten events on the Canadian Tour from 1952 through 1973. He won four tournaments on the PGA Tour, the most of any Canadian to that point. In 1968, in Italy, he won the World Cup team title for Canada, as well as the individual title. Balding played on the Canadian National Team in the Canada Cup / World Cup from 1956 to 1970, except in the years 1962, 1965 and 1966. Perhaps the most remarkable win of his career came at the age of 76, when Balding captured the 2000 Canadian PGA Senior Championship, giving him professional victories in six different decades.