William Joseph Bolger (20 January 1910 – 27 May 1977) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

in 1934, finishing three strokes ahead of

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...

. He also won the New South Wales Professional Championship twice, in 1930 and 1939 and represented Australia in the

Lakes International Cup The Lakes International Cup was a men's team golf competition between teams of professional golfers from Australia and the United States. It was played four times between 1934 and 1954. The United States won the first three matches with Australia ...

in 1934 and 1936.

Early life

Bolger was born in

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many c ...

, Sydney on 20 January 1910. He was one of a number of golfing brothers.

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

and Ted were professionals while Jim was an amateur. He was originally an assistant to Tom Howard at

Concord Golf Club The Concord Golf Club is a golf club in Concord, New South Wales, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. It hosted the Women's Australian Open in 2004 with the champion being Laura Davies Dame Laura Jane Davies, (born 5 October 1963) is an Engl ...

, before becoming the professional at Parramatta Golf Club in 1929 and later at the new course at Oatlands Golf Club in 1931. In early 1935 he left Oatlands to take up a teaching position at Mick Simmons sports store.

Professional career

SLNSW 23346 Bill Bolger at Moore Park taken for Golf in Australia

Bolger first came to wide notice in 1928 when he finished fourth in the

at Royal Sydney and runner-up to

Rufus Stewart William Rufus Clyde Stewart (27 September 1893 – 23 April 1964) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the 1927 Australian Open and the 1929 Australian Professional Championship. In 1928 he travelled to Britain and America, playing in ...

in the

Victorian Professional Championship The Victorian PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Victoria, Australia. It has been part of the PGA Tour of Australasia each season since 2009. It is the oldest of the state professional championships, having been first held in 1922. ...

at Kingston Heath. Bolger and Stewart were level after three rounds before Stewart won by two strokes in a close finish. Bolger's first big win was in the 1930 New South Wales Professional Championship at Royal Sydney, where he beat

Dan Soutar Daniel Gordon Soutar (3 December 1882 – 30 November 1937) was an Australian professional golfer. He pioneered professional golf in Australia, bringing his Scottish work ethic and all-round skills to influence the game as a whole from teaching ...

, 8 and 7, in the 36-hole final. Earlier in 1930 he had reached the final of the New South Wales Dunlop Cup but lost to his ex-boss Tom Howard in the final, by one hole. In 1931 Bolger reached the final of the

Australian Professional Championship The Australian Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for Australian or Australian-based players. History From 1963 to 1974 the Australian Professional Championship was held on a challenge basis and d ...

, losing, 2 and 1, to

Don Spence Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vil ...

. Bolger came close to winning the New South Wales Professional Championship again in 1933, but lost a close final against

Charlie Gray Charles A. Gray (June 1864 – June 1, 1900) was an American baseball pitcher. He pitched five games in Major League Baseball, four of them as a starting pitcher. Early life Gray was born in 1864 in Indianapolis. The first record of his playi ...

by one hole. They were level playing the final hole, but Bolger missed a short putt to give Gray the title. In 1934 Bolger had his biggest success, winning the

at Royal Sydney. The championship saw the first serious American challenger with

competing. He was on a world tour with

Joe Kirkwood Jr Reginald Thomas Kirkwood (30 May 1920 – 7 September 2006), better known as Joe Kirkwood Jr., was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour and a film actor. He started going by the name Joe Jr. in the late 1930s. Biography Kirkwood was born in Melb ...

. However Bolger won the open with a new record score of 283, with Sarazen second and Kirkwood fourth. The following week, Bolger reached the final of the

, losing, 2 and 1, Lou Kelly. He was selected for the Australian team for the inaugural

The Lakes Golf Club The Lakes Golf Club is one of Australia's premier golf courses, located in the Sydney suburb of Eastlakes in New South Wales. Founded in 1928, this prestigious private golf course is approximately a 10-minute drive from Sydney central business ...

. The United States won the match 9–0. Earlier in 1934 he had been runner-up to

in the New South Wales Dunlop Cup at The Lakes. Between 1935 and World War II, Bolger's only significant win was in the 1939 New South Wales Professional Championship at Concord, where he beat

Norman Von Nida Norman Guy Von Nida (14 February 1914 – 20 May 2007) was an Australian professional golfer. Von Nida was born in Strathfield and grew up in Brisbane. He turned professional in 1933, after attracting attention by winning the 1932 Queensland A ...

, 5 and 4, in the final. He best finish in this period in the

was in the defence of his title in 1935. He had a poor first day and despite having the best score on the final day, only finished tied for third place. He was runner-up in a number of tournaments, in the

Lakes Open The Lakes Open was a golf tournament played at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia between 1934 and 1974. The inaugural event was organised in connection with the visit of a group of American professionals who had earlier pla ...

in 1936 and 1939 and in the New South Wales Dunlop Cup in 1935, 1937, 1939 and 1940. In the 1936 Lakes Open he was the leading professional, behind

Jim Ferrier James Bennett Elliott Ferrier (24 February 1915 – 13 June 1986) was an Australian professional golfer from Manly, New South Wales. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States ...

, while in 1939 he lost an 18-hole playoff to Von Nida by one stroke. By 1940 Bolger had been runner-up six times in the Dunlop Cup without winning. In early 1936 Bolger was one of the six-man Australian team in the second

at Lakewood Country Club, Long Beach, California. Bolger lost his singles match, 9 and 8, to

Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments. Tournament career Born in Springfield, Missouri, Smith turned professional in 1926 and w ...

. Bolger continued to have some success after World War II. He finally won the New South Wales Dunlop Cup in 1946, by a stroke from Lou Kelly and

Ossie Pickworth Horace Henry Alfred "Ossie" Pickworth (17 January 1918 – 23 September 1969) was a leading Australian professional golfer of the 1940s and 1950s, winner of three successive Australian Open titles from 1946 to 1948, the last of which came in ...

in the 36-hole event. He was tied for fifth place in the 1949

, 14 strokes behind

Eric Cremin Eric James Cremin (15 June 1914 – 29 December 1973) was an Australian professional golfer who, later in his career, was instrumental in the establishment of the Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit. Cremin was born in Mascot ...

, and he finished runner-up, a stroke behind Cremin, in the 1950

New South Wales Close Championship The New South Wales Open is an annual golf tournament held in New South Wales, Australia. The event was founded in 1931 as the New South Wales Close Championship, being restricted to residents of New South Wales, becoming the New South Wales Ope ...

. As late as 1956 he was runner-up, with Cremin, in the

. An amateur,

Harry Berwick Harry Williamson Berwick (23 April 1923 – 3 April 1988) was an Australian golfer. He won the Australian Amateur twice, in 1950 and 1956, and won the 1952 New Zealand Amateur. He won two open titles in 1956, the Lakes Open and the New Zealand ...

, won the event so Bolger and Cremin shared the first prize money.

Later life

Bolger died on 27 May 1977 at his home in Concord, Sydney. He had had a heart attack in the late 1950s.

Professional wins

*1930 New South Wales Professional Championship *1934

*1939 New South Wales Professional Championship *1946 Dunlop Cup (New South Wales)

Team appearances

(representing Australia): 1934, 1936 *

Vicars Shield The Vicars Shield was a professional team golf competition between the states of Australia. It was first played in 1930 and continued as an interstate event until 1956. It was the professional equivalent of the amateur Australian Men's Interstate ...

(representing New South Wales): 1930, 1931, 1933 (winners), 1934 (winners), 1935, 1936 (winners), 1937 (winners), 1939, 1946 (winners), 1947 (winners), 1948 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolger, Billy Australian male golfers Golfers from Sydney 1910 births 1977 deaths Sportsmen from New South Wales