The Open Championship – Carnoustie, Scotland (July 18, 2007) – Joe Carr and Kel Nagle will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Nov. 12 as part of the Class of 2007. Carr, who passed away in 2004, will become the first Irish member and was selected in the Lifetime Achievement Category. Nagle was selected in the Veteran’s Category. Both categories were determined by the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors Selection Committee.
"I am very pleased to be recognized and look forward to joining some of my old friends in the Hall of Fame, including Peter Thomson, Greg Norman, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson—all with whom I’ve played golf during my career," said Nagle.
Carr and Nagle are the final two to be named as part the Class of 2007, which includes Hubert Green (Veteran’s Category), Charles Blair Macdonald (Lifetime Achievement), Se Ri Pak (LPGA Points System) and Curtis Strange (PGA TOUR Ballot). The 2007 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at the Hall of Fame in St.
Augustine, Florida.
"Both Joe Carr and Kel Nagle are legends of golf and it is appropriate that they be honoured at the highest level," said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A and a member of the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors. "Joe remains Ireland’s most outstanding amateur golfer and Kel boasts a remarkable career in the game where he dominated his home tour and found success as he travelled to play around the world. It is a pleasure to make this announcement at The Open Championship. Kel will always be remembered for his victory in The Centenary Open in 1960."
Born just outside Dublin, Ireland, in 1922, Carr won The Amateur Championship three times in 1953, 1958 and 1960. Only Hall of Fame members John Ball (8), Sir Michael Bonallack (5) and Harold Hilton
(4) won the Championship more times than Carr. Between 1941 and 1969, he won 37 championships in Ireland, including the Irish Amateur Championship six times and the Irish Open Amateur Championship four times. (Complete list of victories attached.)
Carr played in a record 10 Walker Cup matches and chose to be a non- playing captain in 1965. He won the USGA’s Bob Jones Award in 1961 and in 1991 was Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Nagle, who will join Greg Norman, Peter Thomson, Walter Travis and Karrie Webb as Australian Hall of Fame members, was born north of Sydney in 1920 and after years of traveling around the world to play golf, still calls that area home. Nagle is most well known for his 1960 Open Championship victory at St. Andrews, though his career includes 61 wins in Australasia, plus victories in Europe, Asia and
North America. Together with fellow Hall of Fame member Thomson, he
won the 1954 and 1959 World Cups. (Complete list of victories attached.)
"Carr and Nagle are welcome additions to the Class of 2007, rounding out a range of individuals who have contributed to the sport and its history greatly," said Jack Peter, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the World Golf Hall of Fame. "We look forward to honoring our first Irishman and yet another Aussie, both of whom hold terrific stories that will be told properly throughout the Hall of Fame for years to come."
For more information about the 2007 Class of Inductees or the World Golf Hall of Fame, call 904-940-4123 or visit www.wgv.com.
About the World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame, located in St. Augustine, Fla., is the ultimate destination for the celebration and recognition of golf’s greatest players and contributors and an inspiration to golfers and fans throughout the world. A collaboration of 26 national and international golf organizations support the Hall of Fame, including the PGA TOUR, LPGA, USGA, PGA of America and The R&A. The museum houses interactive exhibits and historic and personal artifacts that tell the stories of its members and the game of golf. Adjacent is the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX® Theater. For more information, visit www.wgv.com.
Contact:
Jane Fader
001 904 940 4009 (U.S.)
jfader@wghof.org
Peyton Taylor
0791 379 8123 (Carnoustie)
ptaylor@wghof.org
