Billy Joe Patton

William Joseph Patton (April 19, 1922 – January 1, 2011 ) was an American golfer best known for almost winning the 1954 Masters Tournament.

Patton was born in Morganton, North Carolina. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1943.

In the 1954 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Patton came within one stroke of being in a three-man playoff with Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. His final round 71 included a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole and a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole, when he tried to reach the green in two and put his ball into Rae's Creek.

Patton won several amateur tournaments including the North and South Amateur three times and the Southern Amateur twice. He also won the Carolinas Open twice.

Patton played on five Walker Cup teams; 1955, 1957, 1959, 1963, and 1965 and was captain of the 1969 team. He played on the Eisenhower Trophy team in 1958 and 1962.

Patton was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the United States Golf Association in 1982.

Patton was inducted into several Halls of Fame:
 * North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1967
 * Wake Forest University's Sports Hall of Fame in 1974
 * Southern Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1975
 * Carolinas Golf Reporters Association Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame in 1981
 * Burke County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007

Tournament wins

 * 1947 Carolinas Amateur
 * 1951 Carolinas Open
 * 1952 Carolinas Open (tied with Bobby Locke)
 * 1954 North and South Amateur
 * 1958 Carolinas Amateur
 * 1961 Southern Amateur, Azalea Invitational, Carolinas Amateur
 * 1962 North and South Amateur
 * 1963 North and South Amateur
 * 1964 North Carolina Amateur
 * 1965 Southern Amateur
 * 1979 Carolinas Senior Amateur
 * 1981 Carolinas Senior Amateur

Results in major championships
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Sources: Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Amateur: 1955, 1959

U.S. national team appearances

 * Walker Cup: 1955 (winners), 1957 (winners), 1959 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965 (tied, cup retained), 1969 (non-playing captain, winners)
 * Eisenhower Trophy: 1958, 1962 (winners)
 * Americas Cup: 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1963 (winners)