Jack Newton
Personal information
Born(1950-01-30)30 January 1950
Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
Died14 April 2022(2022-04-14) (aged 72)
Sporting nationality Australia
SpouseJackie
Children2
Career
Turned professional1969
Former tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins13
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour3
PGA Tour of Australasia3
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT2: 1980
PGA ChampionshipT20: 1980
U.S. OpenT32: 1980
The Open Championship2nd: 1975
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour of Australia
Order of Merit winner		1979

Jack Newton OAM (30 January 1950 – 14 April 2022) was an Australian professional golfer. Newton had early success in Australia, winning the 1972 Amoco Forbes Classic. He soon moved on to the British PGA where he won three times in the mid-1970s and finished runner-up at the 1975 Open Championship. Shortly thereafter, Newton started playing on the PGA Tour where he won the 1978 Buick-Goodwrench Open. During this era, Newton also played significantly in Australia where he won a number events including the 1979 Australian Open. Four years later, Newton had a near-fatal accident when he walked into the spinning propeller of an airplane, losing his right arm and right eye. However, he survived and managed to work a number of golf-related jobs the remainder of his life.

Early life

Newton was born in Cessnock, New South Wales.

Professional career

In 1969, he turned professional.[1] 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 in successive weeks.[2] In 1974, he won the Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship, beating Cesar Sanudo in the final.[3] Later in 1974, he lost in a playoff for the New Zealand Open.[4] In 1978, Newton won the Buick-Goodwrench Open on the PGA Tour.[5] In Australia, he won the New South Wales Open in 1976 and 1979 and the Australian Open Championship in 1979.[6][7][8]

At the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie 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.[9] 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.[10]

Newton won the PGA Tour of Australia's Order of Merit in 1979. He finished tied for second at the 1980 Masters Tournament, four strokes behind the winner Seve Ballesteros.[11] In May 1983, Newton lost to Terry Gale in a playoff for the Western Australian Open.[12]

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 airplane from which he was getting off at Sydney Airport. 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.[13][14][15]

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.[16] 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.[14]

Personal life

Newton married his wife Jackie in 1974; they had two children, Kristie and Clint. Clint Newton played rugby league, while Kristie is also a professional golfer.[17] In 2003, Newton was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, and was rushed to hospital.[18]

He died on 14 April 2022 at the age of 72 due to health complications, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2020.[19][20]

Awards and honors

Amateur wins

This list may be incomplete

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 18 Jun 1978 Buick-Goodwrench Open −8 (72-67-70-71=280) Playoff United States Mike Sullivan

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1975 The Open Championship United States Tom Watson Lost 18-hole playoff;
Watson: −1 (71),
Newton: E (72)
2 1978 Buick-Goodwrench Open United States Mike Sullivan Won with birdie on first extra hole

Sources:[9][10][5][24]

European Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 13 Aug 1972 Dutch Open −11 (64-75-69-69=277) 1 stroke England Malcolm Gregson, England Peter Oosterhuis
2 19 Aug 1972 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf −3 (73-70-67-71=281) 1 stroke Scotland Harry Bannerman
3 15 Sep 1974 Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship 2 and 1 Mexico Cesar Sanudo

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1975 The Open Championship United States Tom Watson Lost 18-hole playoff;
Watson: −1 (71),
Newton: E (72)

Sources:[9][10]

PGA Tour of Australia wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 17 Oct 1976 New South Wales Open −19 (67-68-68-66=269) 10 strokes Australia Ted Ball, Australia David Good
2 4 Nov 1979 New South Wales Open (2) −11 (69-70-70-72=281) 9 strokes Australia Wayne Grady, England Jeff Hall,
United States Gary Vanier
3 18 Nov 1979 Dunhill Australian Open E (74-72-70-72=288) 1 stroke Australia Graham Marsh, Australia Greg Norman

PGA Tour of Australia playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1983 Town and Country Western Australian Open Australia Terry Gale Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Sources:[6][7][8][4][12]

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 17 Dec 1972 City of Auckland Classic −7 (75-71-67-64=277) 1 stroke Australia Bob Tuohy

New Zealand Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1974 New Zealand Open New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Bob Gilder Gilder won with birdie on third extra hole
Newton eliminated by par on second hole

Source:[25]

Other wins (5)

This list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T12 T2 CUT
U.S. Open T32
The Open Championship T49 T40 CUT CUT 2 T17 CUT T24 T57 T10
PGA Championship T50 T20
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Source:[31]

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 1 1 2 5 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 2 4 10 7
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
Totals 0 2 0 2 3 7 18 12

Team appearances

Amateur

See also

References

  1. ^ "Devlin shares golf lead". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12439. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 October 1969. p. 34. Retrieved 15 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Sporting world". The Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 13208. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 August 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 15 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Newton powers his way to title". The Glasgow Herald. 16 September 1974. p. 5.
  4. ^ a b "Gilder wins play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 25 November 1974. p. 5.
  5. ^ a b "Unknown North takes Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 15612. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 June 1978. p. 28. Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ a b "Newton beats aching legs for golf record". The Canberra Times. Vol. 51, no. 14512. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 October 1976. p. 18. Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "Newton wins NSW Open". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 November 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 13 February 2020 – via Trove.
  8. ^ a b "Newton takes open by a shot". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16126. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 November 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 22 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ a b c "The Battle of Britain". Golf World. 18 July 1975. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Modest Watson joins the great Ben Hogan". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 15 July 1975. p. 24. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Ballesteros takes US Masters with 13-under-par total". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16273. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 April 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ a b "Gale wins play-off". The Age. 23 May 1983. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Bolton, Matthew (25 July 1983). "Jack Newton loses arm". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  14. ^ a b Hagan, John (June 2008). "Jack Newton: Whole Again". Golf Digest. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Newton 'Critical'". The New York Times. Associated Press. 4 August 1983. p. B-15.
  16. ^ "Newton Remains Close To Golf". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, South Carolina. 18 August 1984. p. B5. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  17. ^ Mossop, James (15 July 2003). "Jack Newton's triumph over tragedy". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  18. ^ "TV commentator Newton hospitalized with meningitis". ESPN. Associated Press. 2 January 2003. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  19. ^ "Jack Newton, Australian pro who turned tragedy into opportunity, dies at age 72". Golf Digest. 14 April 2022.
  20. ^ Riordan, Joey (15 April 2022). "Australian golfing legend Jack Newton passes away aged 72 after health complications". 7news.
  21. ^ a b Williams, Mark (11 October 2016). "Newton to be inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame". PGA Tour.
  22. ^ Webster, Jim (26 July 1968). "Champion, 18, youngest since Ferrier". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 15. Retrieved 18 February 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  23. ^ "History Lake Macquarie Amateur Championships". Belmont Golf Club. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Buick Open Winners". Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Charge wins for Newton". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 18 December 1972. p. 21. Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  26. ^ "Biggest win". The Canberra Times. Vol. 46, no. 13051. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 February 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 15 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "Newton wins Nigerian Open". The Glasgow Herald. 25 February 1974. p. 5.
  28. ^ "O'Leary and Newton storm home as Scots fade". The Glasgow Herald. 19 May 1975. p. 23.
  29. ^ "Late burst by Newton". The Glasgow Herald. 15 March 1976. p. 17.
  30. ^ "Newton Triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 22 March 1976. p. 16.
  31. ^ Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
  32. ^ "Last Hole Wins Trophy". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 1969. p. 13.
  33. ^ "Tasmania fights back for first win". The Age. 18 November 1968. p. 23. Retrieved 20 March 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  34. ^ Stone, Peter (25 August 1969). "Hartley loes to Donohoe – NSW wins". The Age. p. 21. Retrieved 20 March 2021 – via Google News Archive.

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