Joe Carr
Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer.[1]
Joe Carr | |||||
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Personal information | |||||
Full name | Joseph Benedict Carr | ||||
Born | Inchicore, Ireland | 22 February 1922||||
Died | 3 June 2004 82) Dublin, Ireland | (aged||||
Nationality | Ireland | ||||
Career | |||||
Status | Amateur | ||||
Best results in major championships | |||||
Masters Tournament | 52nd: 1968 | ||||
PGA Championship | DNP | ||||
U.S. Open | CUT: 1967 | ||||
The Open Championship | 8th: 1960 | ||||
U.S. Amateur | T3: 1961 | ||||
British Amateur | Won: 1953, 1958, 1960 | ||||
Achievements and awards | |||||
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Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days old, he was adopted by his maternal aunt, Kathleen, and her husband, James Carr, who were childless and had recently returned home from India. The Carrs had just been appointed steward and stewardess of the Portmarnock Golf Club, allowing young Joe to play golf from a very early age.[2]
Carr won his first major tournament, the East of Ireland Amateur, at the age of 19 in 1941, which started one of Ireland's greatest golfing careers. He went on to win twelve East of Ireland titles, twelve West of Ireland titles, six Irish Amateur Close Championships, four Irish Amateur Opens, and three South of Ireland titles.
Carr won The Amateur Championship three times, in 1953, 1958, and 1960, and was runner-up in 1968. He was a semi-finalist at the U.S. Amateur in 1961, and was low amateur at The Open Championship in both 1956 and 1958 (and finished 8th overall in 1960). In 1967, he became the first Irishman to play in the Masters Tournament (making the cut). Carr received the Bob Jones Award in 1961, the USGA's highest honour, which is given for "distinguished sportsmanship in golf". He was the first non-American to win the award.
Internationally, Carr represented Ireland in numerous amateur golfing events. He was a member of a record eleven Walker Cup teams from 1947 to 1967, including non-playing captain in 1965 and playing captain in 1967, amassing a record of 5–14–1. After several years of playing against the United States' top-ranked players, he was moved down in the order for the 1961 event—only to be paired against Jack Nicklaus (who won the match). He played and captained on multiple Eisenhower Trophy teams, and represented Ireland in the Men's Home Internationals every year from 1947 to 1969. Carr retired from competitive golf in 1971, after his son Roddy played for the winning Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team.
In 1991, Carr was named Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the first Irishman to hold the post. In July 2007, Carr was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement category, and was inducted in November 2007.
From 1992 until his death in 2004, Carr was president of Mount Juliet Golf Club in Kilkenny. Mount Juliet still hosts the annual J.B. Carr Trophy for its members.
Amateur wins (42)
- 1941 East of Ireland Amateur
- 1943 East of Ireland Amateur
- 1945 East of Ireland Amateur
- 1946 Irish Amateur Open Championship, West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1947 West of Ireland Amateur
- 1948 West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur, South of Ireland Amateur
- 1950 Irish Amateur Open Championship
- 1951 West of Ireland Amateur, Golf Illustrated Gold Vase
- 1953 British Amateur, West of Ireland Amateur
- 1954 Irish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Close, West of Ireland Amateur
- 1955 Gleneagles-Saxone Foursomes Tournament (with Harry Brashaw)
- 1956 Irish Amateur Open Championship, West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1957 Irish Amateur Close, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1958 British Amateur, West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1959 Berkshire Trophy
- 1960 British Amateur, West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1961 West of Ireland Amateur, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1962 West of Ireland Amateur
- 1963 Irish Amateur Close
- 1964 Irish Amateur Close, East of Ireland Amateur
- 1965 Irish Amateur Close
- 1966 West of Ireland Amateur, South of Ireland Amateur
- 1967 Irish Amateur Close
- 1969 East of Ireland Amateur, South of Ireland Amateur
Major championships
Amateur wins (3)
Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1953 | The Amateur Championship | 2 up | Harvie Ward |
1958 | The Amateur Championship | 3 & 2 | Alan Thirlwell |
1960 | The Amateur Championship | 8 & 7 | Bob Cochran |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||
U.S. Open | ||
The Open Championship | ||
U.S. Amateur | R64 | |
The Amateur Championship | R64 | R64 |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
U.S. Open | ||||||||||
The Open Championship | T24 | CUT | T36 LA | CUT | 37 LA | T38 | ||||
U.S. Amateur | R128 | R256 | ||||||||
The Amateur Championship | QF | SF | SF | 1 | SF | QF | R128 | R128 | 1 | R16 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 55 | 52 | CUT | |||||||
U.S. Open | CUT | |||||||||
The Open Championship | 8 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T33 | CUT | |||
U.S. Amateur | SF | T38 | ||||||||
The Amateur Championship | 1 | QF | R32 | R16 | QF | R32 | R128 | R32 | 2 | R64 |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||||
U.S. Open | ||||
The Open Championship | CUT | |||
U.S. Amateur | ||||
The Amateur Championship | R256 | R16 | R32 | R128 |
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,[3] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[4] Open Championship,[5] 1948 British Amateur,[6] 1949 British Amateur,[7] 1950 British Amateur,[8] 1951 British Amateur,[9] 1952 British Amateur,[10] 1954 British Amateur,[11] 1955 British Amateur,[12] 1956 British Amateur,[13] 1957 British Amateur,[14] 1959 British Amateur[15]
Team appearances
- Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965 (tied, playing captain), 1967 (playing captain)
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1958, 1960
- Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Amateurs): 1956, 1957, 1958 (winners), 1959, 1960
- St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1956 (winners), 1968 (winners)
References
- Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
- "My name was Waters". Archived from the original on 5 February 2004.
- www.masters.com
- USGA Championship Database
- www.opengolf.com
- The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1948, pg. 6.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1949, pg. 8.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1950, pg. 9.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1951, pg. 5.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 31, 1952, pg. 5.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1954, pg. 4.
- The Glasgow Herald, June 4, 1955, pg. 9.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1956, pg. 4.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1957, pg. 4.
- The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1959, pg. 11.
Further reading
- Gilleece, Dermot (2004). Breaking 80: The Life and Times of Joe Carr. ISBN 1-84223-153-7