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Jack Newton
Personal information
Born (1950-01-30)30 January 1950
Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
Died 15 April 2022(2022-04-15) (aged 72)
Nationality  Australia
Spouse Jackie
Children 2
Career
Turned professional 1969
Retired 1983
Former tour(s) PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins 13
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
European Tour 3
PGA Tour of Australasia 3
Other 6
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament T2: 1980
U.S. Open T32: 1980
The Open Championship 2nd: 1975
PGA Championship T20: 1980
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour of Australia
Order of Merit winner
1979

Jack Newton OAM (30 January 1950 – 15 April 2022) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Buick-Goodwrench Open on the PGA Tour and won three times on the European Tour, including the British PGA Matchplay Championship in 1974. He won the Australia 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, in a playoff against Tom Watson, and the 1980 Masters Tournament, where he finished four strokes behind the winner, Seve Ballesteros.

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. 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 in successive weeks. In 1974, he won the Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship, beating Cesar Sanudo in the final. Later in 1974, he lost in a playoff for the New Zealand Open. In 1978, Newton won the Buick-Goodwrench Open on the PGA Tour. In Australia, he won the New South Wales Open in 1976 and 1979 and the Australian Open Championship in 1979.

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

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.

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, and was rushed to hospital.

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.

In 2007, Newton was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia 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.

He died on 15 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

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:

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:

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

Legend
Australian Opens (1)
Other PGA Tour of Australasia (2)
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 Australasia playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) 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
2 1983 Town and Country Western Australian Open Australia Terry Gale Lost to birdie on first extra hole

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

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:

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

  • Sloan Morpeth Trophy (representing Australia): 1969 (winners)
  • Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1968, 1969 (winners)
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