Canadian PGA Tour winner Dan Halldorson, one of the country’s most successful golfers over a three-decade career, has died.
“As a golfer, Dan’s record ranks among the best of his generation,” said Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada president Jeff Monday. “His contributions to professional golf in Canada go well beyond his playing days.”
Halldorson, 63, suffered a stroke earlier this week and died this morning.
Raised in Manitoba, Halldorson turned pro in 1971 and joined the PGA Tour four years later. He had several wins on the Mackenzie Tour, then the Canadian Tour, and in 1980 had a victory at the Pensacola Open, his only win on the PGA Tour. He represented Canada on several WGC-World Cup teams. He was elected to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
“He was a true gentleman, role model and someone I looked up to my entire life,” said Golf Canada chief executive Scott Simmons.
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Richard Zokol said Halldorson was one of his closest friends on tour, and praised the man he called “a big teddy bear type of a guy.”
“He was a tremendous ball striker,” Zokol said. “I first saw him at a BC Open in 1972, and he was like a long haired hippie playing the Peter Jackson Tour. He was a long hitter and got his game in shape to play the PGA Tour. He kept his thoughts to himself and let his game do the talking for him.”
Halldorson worked with the Mackenzie Tour for a number of years, and was recently the director of golf for Manitoba’s Oak Island Resort.
Comments