[5][6] Bolger first came to wide notice in 1928 when he finished fourth in the Australian Open at Royal Sydney and runner-up to Rufus Stewart in the Victorian Professional Championship at Kingston Heath.

[8] Bolger's first big win was in the 1930 New South Wales Professional Championship at Royal Sydney, where he beat Dan Soutar, 8 and 7, in the 36-hole final.

They were level playing the final hole, but Bolger missed a short putt to give Gray the title.

[16] Between 1935 and World War II, Bolger's only significant win was in the 1939 New South Wales Professional Championship at Concord, where he beat Norman Von Nida, 5 and 4, in the final.

In the 1936 Lakes Open he was the leading professional, behind Jim Ferrier, while in 1939 he lost an 18-hole playoff to Von Nida by one stroke.

[22] In early 1936 Bolger was one of the six-man Australian team in the second Lakes International Cup at Lakewood Country Club, Long Beach, California.

He finally won the New South Wales Dunlop Cup in 1946, by a stroke from Lou Kelly and Ossie Pickworth in the 36-hole event.