Bill Kerr Sr. (1911 - 1997)
Bill Kerr, Bob Gray, Bobby Jones & Gordon Brydsen
Bill Kerr Sr. (1911 – 1997) inducted in 1997
Golf tradition started for Bill Kerr when as a youth of eleven he took on “water boy” duties to the workers building the York Downs Golf Club in Toronto. Caddying at York Downs led to the position of assistant pro at the club in 1927.
Stages at the Toronto Hunt Club, Cedar Brae, and the Thornhill Golf Club laid the foundation for his development as a player and a teacher.
Born in Lisburn, Ireland, on January 14th, 1911, Bill Kerr immigrated to Toronto in September of that same year where he remained until 1947 when he bacame professional at the Beaconsfield Golf Club – an appointment which would last for twenty-eight years.
Already a fine golf competitor before arriving in Montréal, Bill Kerr had previously twice won the Miller Cup Match-Play Championship, a title he was to capture twice more during his competitive career. While in Toronto, Bill established his credentials with a fifth place finish in the Canadian Open of 1941, and a Canadian PGA Championship in 1945, performance he equally or improved upon, 3rd in the ’49 Canadian Open, after moving to Montréal.
While head-professional at Beaconsfield, Kerr was to enhance his reputation as a top-flight competitor representing Canada in international golf matches. From 1953 through 1961, Bill Kerr represented Canada in such tournaments as the multi-national Canada Cup Matches, now known as the World Cup Matches, the US – Canada Hopkins Trophy Matches, and the 1961 Masters in Augusta. Accompanied by partner Stan Leonard of Vancouver, the Canadian Team finished second to Argentina’s Cerda-De Vicenzo duo in the eight nation Canada Cup competition before his home club members at Beaconsfield in 1953.
Bill Kerr was not lacking in administrative ability, a talent which saw him twice serve as president of the Québec PGA, as well as president of the Canadian Professional Golfers Association from 1955 through 1958.
Bill Kerr’s legacy was not limited to competition and instructing his club members in the noble art. His progeny has, with distinction, contributed to the development of golf in the Montréal area and beyond. Sons Robbie and Bill Jr. have been respectively President of the Beaconsfield Golf Club, and President of the Montréal District of the Québec Golf Association.
Bill Kerr III is well on his way to a distinguished career in the club professional ranks, white Robbie Kerr Jr. Is the 1997 Québec Amateur Golf Champion, and was low medalist in the 1997 Canadian Amateur Golf Championship.
A tower of prestige within the golfing community during his lifetime, William H. Kerr, who passed away in January 1997, at the age of 86, left an enviable legacy of playing and teaching excellence, and the nucleus of a dynasty to further Canada’s proud position in the golf world.
Bill Kerr is proudly inducted into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame by the Québec Golf Association on this 19th day of September 1997.
Committee and Inducted Members
- 3 members appointed by Golf Québec, at least three of whom are past presidents of Golf Québec: Charlie Beaulieu, Jacques Nols, Marcel Paul Raymond
- 1 representative of the PGA of Canada: Guy Faucher
- 1 inductee: Debbie Savoy Morel
- 1 selected by the committee: Michel St-Laurent
Graham Cooke (1946-...) inducted in 2008
Judy Darling-Evans (1937-...) inducted in 1998
Pat Fletcher (1916-1985) inducted in 1998
André Gagné (1944-...) inducted in 2016
Damien Gauthier (1913-1999) inducted in 2000
Christopher Howard Gribbin (1921-2012) inducted in 1996
Mary Ann Hayward (1960-...) inducted in 2011
Stanley Horne (1912-1995) inducted in 1996
Jules Huot (1908-1999) inducted in 1996
The eight Huot brothers inducted in 1996
Karl Kaspar Keffer (1882-1955) inducted in 2016
Bill Kerr Sr. (1911-1997) inducted in 1997
Albert Henri Murray (1887-1974) inducted in 1996
Charles Richard Murray (1882-1939) inducted in 1996
Jacques Nols (1945-...) inducted in 2012