Jack Newton OAM (30 January 1950 – 14 April 2022) was an Australian

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He won the

Buick-Goodwrench Open The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players use ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and won three times on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

, including the

British PGA Matchplay Championship The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

in 1974. He won the

Australia Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

in 1979 and a number of other tournaments in Australia, New Zealand and Africa. Twice, he was a runner-up in major championships, losing the

1975 Open Championship The 1975 Open Championship was the 104th Open Championship, played 9–13 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. In his first Open, Tom Watson won an 18-hole playoff by one stroke over Jack Newton to win the first of his eight major title ...

, in a playoff against Tom Watson, and the

1980 Masters Tournament The 1980 Masters Tournament was the 44th Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Seve Ballesteros, age 23, won his first Masters and second major championship title, four strokes ahead of runners- ...

, where he finished four strokes behind the winner,

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

. In 1983 Newton had a near-fatal accident when he walked into the spinning propeller of an airplane, losing his right arm and eye.

Golf career

Newton was born in

Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock Local government in Australia, LGA and was named after a ...

. He turned professional in 1969. He was one of Australia's most successful golfers in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1972, he won the Dutch Open and the

Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf The Benson & Hedges International Open was a men's professional golf tournament which was played in England. It was founded in 1971 and for its first five years it was called the Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf. It was sponsored by Benson & Hedge ...

in successive weeks. In 1974, he won the

Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the '' News of the World'', and was commonly known ...

, beating

Cesar Sanudo Cesar Sanudo (October 26, 1943 – August 28, 2011) was a Mexican professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Golf career Sanudo was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico with his four siblings. Like many other Hispani ...

in the final. Later in 1974, he lost in a playoff for the

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

. In 1978, Newton won the

on the

. In Australia, he won the

New South Wales Open The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...

in 1976 and 1979 and the Australian Open Championship in 1979. At the

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 11,3 ...

in Scotland, Newton lost in a playoff to Tom Watson. In the third round, Newton set a course record of 65, despite having injured an ankle so severely on the practice tee prior to the start of the championship, that he had it professionally wrapped each day, and was subjected to pain-killing injections. In the final round, Newton was the leader during the back-nine but dropped shots in three of the last four holes. Watson holed a 20-foot putt for a birdie on the 72nd hole to tie Newton. In the 18-hole playoff on the following day, Watson defeated Newton by one stroke (71−72). Newton later said that the turning point in the playoff was when Watson chipped in for an eagle at the 14th hole. Newton won the

PGA Tour of Australia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

's Order of Merit in 1979. He finished tied for second at the

, four strokes behind the winner

. In May 1983, Newton lost to

Terry Gale Terry R. Gale (born 7 June 1946) is an Australian professional golfer. Professional career Gale had a successful amateur career before turning professional at a relatively advanced age in 1976. From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s he won re ...

in a playoff for the

Western Australian Open The Western Australian Open, also known as the WA Open, is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It had been a tour event every year since 2009 with the exception of 2019. History The first Western Australian Amateur Championship wa ...

Propeller accident

On 24 July 1983, during the height of his professional career, Newton had a near-fatal accident when he walked into the spinning propeller of a

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

airplane from which he was getting off at

Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...

. He lost his right arm and eye, and sustained severe abdominal injuries. A severe rainstorm was in progress at the time, and in addition, safety aspects near the plane were deficient. Immediately after the accident, doctors gave Newton a 50–50 chance of surviving. He spent several days in a coma and eight weeks in intensive care. After a prolonged rehabilitation from his injuries, Newton returned to public life as a television and radio golf commentator, newspaper reporter, golf course designer, public speaker and chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation. He taught himself to play golf one-handed, swinging the club with his left hand in a right-handed stance. He typically scored in the mid-80s. In 2003, Newton was diagnosed with

meningococcal meningitis Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can a ...

, and was rushed to hospital.

Personal life

Newton married his wife Jackie in 1974; they had two children, Kristie and Clint.

Clint Newton Clint Newton (born June 18, 1981) is an American former international rugby league footballer who played as a and . He played for the Newcastle Knights, Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers in the NRL, Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super Leagu ...

played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

, while Kristie is also a professional golfer. In 2007, Newton was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to golf, particularly through a range of executive, youth development and fundraising roles. Newton became a force in the development of junior golfers, for which he was recognised on 13 October 2016 when he was inducted as a general member of the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

. He died on 14 April 2022 at the age of 72 due to health complications, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2020.

Amateur wins

''This list may be incomplete'' *1968 New South Wales Amateur *1969

Lake Macquarie Amateur The Lake Macquarie Amateur was an amateur golf tournament in Australia. It was first played in 1958 and was organised by and played at the Belmont Golf Club in nearby Marks Point, New South Wales. It was a 72-hole stroke play tournament (54 hole ...

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) Sources:

European Tour wins (3)

European Tour playoff record (0–1) Sources:

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–2) Sources:

Other wins (6)

''This list may be incomplete'' *1972 Amoco Forbes Classic, City of Auckland Classic *1974 Nigerian Open *1975 Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball (with John O'Leary) *1976 Cock of the North,

Mufulira Open The Mufulira Open was a men's professional golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does ...

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1973 and 1974 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Summary

Team appearances

Amateur *

Sloan Morpeth Trophy The Sloan Morpeth Trophy was an amateur team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand. It was contested irregularly from 1947 to 2016. The trophy was presented by Sloan Morpeth in 1956. From 1993 to 2005 the two countries played ea ...

(representing Australia): 1969 (winners) *

Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches The Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches were an amateur team golf competition for men between the states and territories of Australia. The event started in 1904 when New South Wales played Victoria. Until World War II the event was played a ...

(representing New South Wales): 1968, 1969 (winners)

References

External links

Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Jack Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers PGA Tour golfers European Tour golfers Golf writers and broadcasters Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Australian amputees Sportsmen from New South Wales People educated at Epping Boys High School People from the Hunter Region 1950 births 2022 deaths Place of death missing