Jack Newton

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For other people named Jack Newton, see Jack Newton (disambiguation).

Jack Newton
Personal information
Born (1950-01-30) 30 January 1950 (age 71)
Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australia
Career
Turned professional1971
Retired1983
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 (born 30 January 1950) is an Australian former professional golfer.

Golf career[]

Newton was born in Cessnock, New South Wales. He was one of Australia's most successful golfers in the 1970s and early 1980s. He turned professional in 1971 and won his first professional tournament – the Dutch Open – in 1972. Newton notched up several victories over the next decade as he won titles such as the British Matchplay in 1974, the Buick-Goodwrench Open in 1978, and the Australian Open Championship in 1979.

In 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.[1] 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 next day's 18-hole playoff, 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.[2]

Newton won the PGA Tour of Australia's Order of Merit in 1979. He finished tied for second at the 1980 Masters Tournament behind the winner Seve Ballesteros.

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 he was about to board at Sydney Airport; he was about to return to Newcastle having flown to Sydney that morning to see a VFL game between the Sydney Swans and Melbourne Football Club. 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.[3][4]

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.[5] 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 scores in the mid-80s.[4]

In 2003, Newton was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, and was rushed to hospital.[6] He suffered no further permanent injuries.

Personal life[]

Newton married his wife Jackie in 1974, and they have two children, Kristie and Clint. Clint Newton plays rugby league, while Kristie is also a professional golfer.[7]

On 11 June 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 will be recognised on 13 October 2016 when he is inducted as a general member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[8]

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

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 & 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)

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
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

Other wins (6)[]

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

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
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1978 Open Championship – 1980 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Team appearances[]

Amateur

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Battle of Britain". Golf World. 18 July 1975. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Modest Watson joins the great Ben Hogan". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 15 July 1975. p. 24. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  3. ^ Bolton, Matthew (25 July 1983). "Jack Newton loses arm". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Hagan, John (June 2008). "Jack Newton: Whole Again". Golf Digest. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Newton Remains Close To Golf". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, South Carolina. 18 August 1984. p. B5. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  6. ^ "TV commentator Newton hospitalized with meningitis". ESPN. Associated Press. 2 January 2003. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  7. ^ Mossop, James (15 July 2003). "Jack Newton's triumph over tragedy". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  8. ^ Williams, Mark (11 October 2016). "Newton to be inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame". PGA Tour.
  9. ^ "Biggest win". The Canberra Times. 22 February 1972. p. 18.
  10. ^ "Newton wins Nigerian Open". The Glasgow Herald. 25 February 1974. p. 5.
  11. ^ "Newton Triumph". The Glasgow Herald. 22 March 1976. p. 16.

External links[]

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