Joseph Benedict Carr was an Irish amateur golfer. Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters. 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. 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. In 1967, he became the first Irishman to play in the Masters Tournament. 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. 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.
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
