Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer.

Early life

Carr was born in

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchi ...

, a suburb of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 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.

Golf career

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 The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

three times, in 1953, 1958, and 1960, and was runner-up in 1968. He was a semi-finalist at the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

in 1961, and was low amateur at

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in both 1956 and 1958 (and finished 8th overall in 1960). In 1967, he became the first Irishman to play in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

. He made three Masters appearances, surviving the cut in 1967 and 1968. He later became the first Irishman to be a member of the

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

. Carr received the

Bob Jones Award The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones (golfer), Bobby Jones. Winners *1955 Francis Ouimet *1956 William C. C ...

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 The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the 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 Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

(who won the match). Carr was part of the first winning Irish team at the European Amateur Team Championship in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and again when Ireland successfully defended the title in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. After a third and last appearance by Carr in 1969, his son Roddy was a member of the Irish team in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, as well as on the winning Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team. In

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

Carr's younger son John was part of the Irish team winning a third title at the European Amateur Team Championship. Carr played and captained on multiple

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

teams, and represented Ireland in the

Men's Home Internationals The Men's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for men between the four Home Nations. Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event was organised by The R&A. The inaugural event was held in 1932 and the ve ...

every year from 1947 to 1969. Carr retired from competitive golf in 1971. In 1991, Carr was named Captain of

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

, 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. Two months before Carr's death, his son John became the third Irishman to be invited to join Augusta National Golf Club, after his father and Ian Webb.

Awards and honors

* In 1961, Carr received the

from the USGA * In 2007, Carr was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame

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 The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it cover ...

*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)

Results timeline

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 and U.S. Amateur, Open Championship, 1948 British Amateur, 1949 British Amateur, 1950 British Amateur, 1951 British Amateur, 1952 British Amateur, 1954 British Amateur, 1955 British Amateur, 1956 British Amateur, 1957 British Amateur, 1959 British Amateur

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, 1955,

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, 1961,

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

(tied, playing captain),

(playing captain) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1958, 1960 * European Amateur Team Championship (representing Ireland):

, (winners)

(winners), 1969 * Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Amateurs): 1956, 1957, 1958 (winners), 1959, 1960 * St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1956 (winners), 1968 (winners) Sources:

References

External links

*
Biography page on the Carr family business websiteIrish Examiner obituaryGolf Union of Ireland article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Joe Irish male golfers Amateur golfers Golf administrators World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from County Dublin People from Inchicore 1922 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Irish sportsmen