Inducted Members

 

Many tributes were presented to Dan Halldorson, Canadian Golf Hall of Famer, ever since he passed away on November 18, 2015, following a heart attack at only 63 years old. Every single title surely was well deserved and the wave of homage to his memory continues, here, in Québec.

 

A true supporter of golf in our province, two-time champion of the PGA and World Cup, he is now posthumously honoured with the Pierre-Nadon Prize which is awarded every year by a group of golf reporters to highlight exceptional contributions to the game of golf in Québec through someone’s career or involvement.

 

“An excellent candidate”, commented Marcel Paul Raymond, President of Golf Québec.

 

Past President of Golf Québec, Roger H. Legault, also added without hesitation: “I’ve been associated with the Québec Open for 17 years, as a competitor and, later on, as a rules official and organizer. Dan always was an exceptional supporter throughout the years”.

 

For a better understanding of Halldorson’s impact, one should know that, in 1980 alone, he won the PGA Pensacola tournament, was 36^th overall in the purse ranking, and captured the World Cup with Jim Nelford in Columbia, on the international stage, after claiming the Québec Open title in Victoriaville.

 

“Considering that purses paid to the PGA winners are now over a million dollars, we have to wonder how much it would cost us to bring one back in Québec”, asks Gilles Terroux, former Sport Director of Le Journal de Montréal and now Editor for the Québec PGA.

 

One year, Halldorson who cumulated 34 top ten rankings on the PGA and Rick Janes who eventually became Commissioner of the Canadian Tour brought in a few superstars at Les Bois-Francs. They included: Dave Barr, who quickly became one of the regulars, Jim Nelford, Rick Zokol as well as Ray Stewart. It goes without saying that Jean-Marc Fréchette, Vice-President of Lactancia which was the event sponsor at the time, truly was delighted.

 

Often, Halldorson was host to the organizers of the Victoriaville event when they went down to the PGA Florida event or visited the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey.

 

This Manitoba native also played at Royal Québec, Whitlock, Les Dunes, and on other great courses of Québec including, of course, competing in the Canadian Open at Royal Montreal.

 

 

Always looking forward to lend a helping hand, he acted as Assistant Commissioner in the 2000s and contributed to reviving the Montréal Open 60 years after it had stopped.

 

“Real sports champions are not only sized by the number of trophies they line up on their mantel piece, they are also recognized by the impact of their involvement. In this context, Dan truly was one of the greatest spokespersons for the game of golf”, affirms Bill Paul who was the Canadian Open Director for quite a long time.

 

“This is perfectly in line with the personality and values of late Pierre Nadon, past reporter of La Presse, Senior Editor of Golf Canada, and, most of all, great golf advocate”, agreed Randy Phillips, former reporter of The Gazette, and André Rousseau, blogger on the Les Coulisses du sport website.

 

 

Since 2005, the Pierre-Nadon Prize is awarded every year by a group of reporters who are specialized in golf in Québec, Mario Brisebois, Gilles Terroux and al., as well as by Golf Québec. The recipient of this homage is a person who contributed in an exceptional way to the development and promotion of golf in Québec.

 

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Source: Mario Brisebois