The 2019 class of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame has been selected and one new member will be announced each day from June 25 - July 6.
Visit UWBadgers.com each day to celebrate each new member of this distinguished and historic class of Badgers!
MADISON, Wis.— A recent surge in popularity caught Ben Walter a bit off guard.
The same month that it was announced that he'll be one of three inductees in the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame, he got an unexpected phone call from his alma mater.
Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin director of athletics, was on the line telling Walter that he'd been chosen to be part of the next hall of fame class at the University of Wisconsin.
"Way out of the blue," Walter said of the notification.
Surprised?
"Very much," he said.
It's no shocker that Walter is being recognized by the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame. He was the state amateur player of the year in 1993 and won the State Open on three occasions, including that time in '97 when he outdueled Steve Stricker, then a two-time PGA Tour winner. Walter will be feted along with Rich Tock and Ryan Quinn at a dinner Oct. 5.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Walter is being singled out for his work with the Badgers, either. He's not only a rarity — one of four men in program history to earn medalist honors at the Big Ten Conference meet — he was smack in the middle of Wisconsin's greatest show of strength.
Walter is part of a 12-member induction class at Wisconsin that will honored at a banquet on Sept. 6 at Union South as well as the football home opener on Sept. 7 at Camp Randall Stadium.
Gallery: (7/5/2019) Hall of Fame 2019: Ben Walter
"He's clearly worthy," said Dennis Tiziani, who coached the Badgers from 1977 to 2003. "Certainly deserving from a golf standpoint. He was one of our better players."
Walter, from Menomonie, Wisconsin, attended a junior college in Arizona for a year and spent a year at Oregon State before transferring to Wisconsin and redshirting in 1992. He eventually made up for lost time.
"The whole experience there was awesome for me," he said.
Walter got some inspiration from sitting out a season as a redshirt. He watched as the Badgers finished third in the Big Ten meet and qualified for the NCAA tournament for just the third time in program history.
"The expectations were set," Walter said. "When I started playing in my junior year we were going to continue that."
Walter joined and strengthened one of the better lineups Tiziani ever assembled. Walter currently ranks eighth in program history with a career stroke average of 74.60, while Jim Pejka (74.83) and Mark Scheibach (75.22) are in the top 15.
Wisconsin won the Big Ten meet in 1993, finishing seven strokes ahead of perennial power Ohio State, which owned 19 league titles at that point. Jason Fitchett finished in a tie for second at 287, while Walter and Pejka tied for fifth place with 288.
A year later, the Badgers followed that up with a three-stroke victory over Northwestern, becoming the sixth school to win consecutive conference championships dating back to 1920.
What made those two teams special?
"They were very close," Tiziani said. "Ben was the leader. He was dedicated. He was a real player."
Walter noted that Tiziani was especially proud of the fact that all his players on those two squads were Wisconsinites.
"It was a competitive team," Walter said. "A great group of guys."
The thrill of winning back-to-back titles was enhanced by a historic showing from Walter. Playing on one of the toughest college courses in the country at Michigan, he opened with a career-best 65. For good measure, he matched it in the second round.
Walter remembers struggling for the better part of the season heading into the Big Ten meet. Then everything changed.
"That was pretty special," he said.
Tiziani recalled touching base with his No. 1 player late in the second round.
"He was out there and I asked how he was doing and he put up six fingers," Tiziani said. "My comment was, 'Well, then we're even for today.' He said, 'No, no, I'm 6-under for today, too."'
Halfway through the 72-hole event, Walter was 12 under par on the way to setting a Big Ten mark for 36 holes that still stands.
"That was something," Tiziani said.
Walter closed with a 70 and 74 for a 274 total that ranks second in league history for 72 holes. He also owns the best 36-hole, 54-hole and 72-hole totals in Wisconsin history.
Winning the individual title put Walter in the same sentence with iconic Big Ten champions like Stricker for Illinois (1986, '88 and '89), Joey Sindelar (1981) for Ohio State and Jack Nicklaus (1961) for Ohio State.
Walter said "driving the ball and putting" were his strengths as a player.
"I definitely worked at it, but my teammates did, too," he said.
Tiziani said Walter had a maturity to his game and few weaknesses.
"His overall management of the course was the biggest strength," Tiziani said. "He's a good driver. He had no real weaknesses. He was a good solid player. Maybe a little advanced for his age from a playability standpoint."
Walter, 48, currently lives in Arizona where he works as a residential real estate agent in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area. He played on the Canadian Tour for four years out of college and played in multiple Greater Milwaukee Opens, but hasn't competed in a tournament since 2012.
"I play a little bit of golf, but not a lot," he said.
Walter said his life revolves around work and his 14-year-old yellow lab Annie.
"This is a second home out here," he said. "I love it out here. But if you ask me where I'm from and who I am, I'm a Wisconsinite."
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UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019
- Joe Thomas, Football
- Kelly (Kennedy) Saurer, Volleyball
- Otto Puls, Special Service
- Elzie Higginbottom, Track & Field
- Donovan Bergstrom, Cross Country and Track & Field
- Pat Christenson, Wrestling
- Gwen Jorgensen, Cross Country, Track & Field, Swimming
- Trent Jackson, Men's Basketball
- Jessie (Vetter) McConnell, Women's Hockey
- Jim Kalscheur, Special Service
- Ben Walter, Men's Golf
- Next member announced July 6
