Jack Newton: Profile of Australian Golfer
Jack Newton was an Australia pro golfer who won tournaments around the world in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. He was also runner-up in two majors, including a playoff loss at the British Open to Tom Watson. His career was cut short by a horrific accident involving an airplane propeller, but he recovered to forge a second career in golf.
Newton was born on January 30, 1950, in Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia, and died in Australia on April 14, 2022.
His Biggest Wins
Jack Newton had one win on the PGA Tour and three wins on the European Tour:- 1972 Dutch Open
- 1972 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf
- 1974 Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship
- 1978 Buick-Goodwrench Open (PGA Tour)
- 1976 New South Wales Open
- 1979 New South Wales Open
- 1979 Australian Open
In the Majors
In the 1975 British Open, Jack Newton took Tom Watson to the last hole of an 18-hole playoff before having to settle for second place. The 1975 Open was Watson's first of his eventual five Open titles and eight major championship wins, the victory that launched Watson into superstardom.After two rounds, Newton was outside the Top 10. But in the third round he fired a 65, which, at the time, was a new course record at Carnoustie and also tied the British Open's 18-hole scoring record. That moved him into second place, one behind leader Bobby Cole. Watson finished the third round in fourth place, three behind Cole and one back of Newton.
Cole scored 76 in the final round and finished one stroke out of the Watson-Newton playoff. Watson forced that playoff by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole.
The playoff, in a steady rain, was a see-saw affair. Watson made a big move with a chip-in eagle on the 14th, but they were tied again on the 18th tee.
Watson had 25 feet for birdie when he reached the final green, but Newton put his approach shot into a bunker and the bunker shot 10 feet past the hole. Watson 2-putted for par, but Newton missed that 10-foot par putt and Watson was the winner, 71 to 72.
Newton first played in a major in the 1971 British Open, and last in the 1981 Masters (won by Watson). He had two other top 10 finishes, tied 10th in the 1980 Open (won by Watson), and tied second in the 1980 Masters.
In that 1980 Masters, Newton was tied for third going into the final round, but eight strokes behind the leader, Seve Ballesteros. Newton scored 68 in the final round and finished four behind Seve.
More About Jack Newton
Growing up in New South Wales, Jack Newton was a multi-sport athlete: He excelled not just at golf but also cricket and rugby. But he decided to focus on golf after suffering a rugby injury.By the time he was 18, Newton was winning the New South Wales Amateur Championship in 1968. He was that title's youngest winner since 16-year-old Jim Ferrier claimed it in 1931. In 1969, Newton reached the semifinals of the Australian Amateur, and decided to turn pro after that showing.
Newton headed to Europe and was a prominent (though not a star) player, finishing fifth, 14th, 12th and ninth, respectively, on the Euro Tour's order of merit in the years 1972-75.
The year 1972 included his first pro wins, two in Europe and one in New Zealand. On the European Tour, Newton won in back-to-back weeks in August, first at the Dutch Open (by one over Malcolm Gregson and Peter Oosterhuis), then at the Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf (by one over Harry Bannerman). In December, he added the City of Auckland Classic on the New Zealand Circuit.
In 1974, Newton added the third of his three European Tour victories in the Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship, beating Cesar Sanudo in the title match. (That was the tournament once known as the News of the World Match Play.) He also made it into a playoff at the 1974 New Zealand Open (won by Bob Gilder).
Following the 1975 Euro Tour season, Newton decided to play even more around the world, including in the U.S., although he continued playing a small number of events per year in Europe. His last Euro Tour appearance was in 1981. Newton ended with 82 career starts in Europe, three wins, seven seconds, one third, and 24 total Top 10 finishes.
He had three wins in 1976, including his first on the PGA Tour of Australia — a 10-stroke victory in the New South Wales Open.
Newton also won twice in Africa in 1976 on what was called the Safari Circuit. His victory in the Cock O' the North tournament in Zambia was interrupted when he was attacked in the second round by painfully biting African ants (there were anthills scattered frequently around the golf course), sending him scurrying while trying to get out of his ant-ridden clothes.
The next week, also in Zambia, the Mufulira Open took place, and it started with a horrible tragedy: the murder of one of the entered golfers, David Moore. They played the tournament anyway, and Newton wound up winning by one over Tommy Horton.
At the end of 1976, Newton made it through PGA Tour Q-School. He joined the tour in 1977, but had little success his first three years. From 1977-79 respectively, was 156th, 92nd and 96th on the PGA Tour money list. We said "little" success, not no success: In 1978 Newton recorded his one PGA Tour win at the Buick Open (beating Mike Sullivan in a playoff).
Hid finish 1979, however, as the Australasian Tour Order of Merit leader, with two victories in his homeland. The first was a 9-stroke win in the New South Wales Open. The second was the biggest win of Newton's career, the Australian Open. He claimed that title by one stroke over runners-up Greg Norman and Graham Marsh.
Back on the PGA Tour, the year 1980 was his only one finishing inside the Top 60 on the money list, placing 51st. That year included his runner-up showing in The Masters, plus finishing second to Craig Stadler in the Greater Greensboro Open.
Newton fell to 173rd on the PGA Tour money list for 1981. And after another disappointing season in 1982, he left the U.S. circuit. In total, Newton played 101 PGA Tour events with one win, two seconds, and seven total top 10 finishes.
The Near-Fatal Accident and Aftermath
In 1983, Newton was playing in Australia again and made it into a playoff at the Western Australian Open.On July 24, Newton and a few friends were at the Sydney airport to board a small prop plane. It was a dark night, and raining. The pilot was maneuvering the plane, and Newton and the plane's spinning propeller collided.
Newton, 33 years old at the time, suffered massive abdominal injuries, lost his right arm and his right eye. He barely survived — but he did. He was in a coma for a while and in intensive care for two months, with rehab continuing long after.
But not only did Newton forge a new career in golf afterward, he even became a decent golfer again, eventually scoring in the 80s and becoming the equivalent of a 12-handicap.
Newton took on many roles in Australian golf in the following years, including as a television commentator and newspaper columnist. For many years he co-owned an eponymous golf course design company.
Perhaps what he was best-known for in the years after the accident was his promotion of and support for junior golf programs across Australia. In 1986, Newton founded and became chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation, a non-profit whose activities included "junior golf tournaments, camps and clinics for all levels of player, school programs and assistance to clubs and regional areas in the development of their junior programs." The organization staged an annual fundraising tournament that was famous for the fact that many of the participating pros and celebrities played while wearing silly costumes.
In addition, Newton served as chairman of the PGA Tour Australasia in the period 1990-2000.
For his services to golf and country, in 2007 Newton was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (MOA). And in 2016, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Newton was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2020. He died two years later at age 72.
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Alliss, Peter. The Who's Who of Golf, 1983, Orbis Publishing.
Channel Seven Network. "Australian golfing legend Jack Newton passes away aged 72 after health complications," 7News.com, April 14, 2022, https://7news.com.au/sport/golf/australian-golfing-legend-jack-newton-dies-after-health-complications-c-6455161.
European Tour. Players, Jack Newton, Career Record, https://www.europeantour.com/players/31327/career-record?tour=dpworld-tour.
Herrington, Ryan. "Jack Newton, Australian pro who turned tragedy into opportunity, dies at age 72," GolfDigest.com, April 16, 2022, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/jack-newton-obituary-tribute-dies-72.
Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation. Meet Jack Newton, via Internet Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20070930021357/http://www.jnjgf.com/html/s12_content/default.asp?tnid=11&dsb=164.
PGA Tour. Players, Jack Newton, Career, https://www.pgatour.com/player/01866/jack-newton/career.
PGA Tour. The Tour Book 1982, Player Biographies, Other Prominent Members of the Tour, Jack Newton.
Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Members, Jack Newton, https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/jack-newton/.
Webster, Jim. "Champion, 18, youngest since Ferrier," The Sydney Morning Herald, July 26, 1968, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cIZWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4223%2C7516357.
