Golf
Dermot Gilleece remembers Australian golfer Jack Newton who died recently
Overcoming the greatest handicap There is something especially tragic about a gifted golfer losing an arm. As it happened, Australia’s Jack Newton, who was 72 when he died last month (in April), was only 33 when he accidentally walked into the propeller of a chartered plane in 1983. Born in Sydney on January 30th 1950, he grew to become an extravagantly gifted sportsman, representing Australia in rugby and cricket as a schoolboy, before a rugby injury prompted him to concentrate on golf. Prior to meeting him for the first time in Waterville in September 1975, I had been warned that he was a man of few words. And so it transpired. We happened to be staying in the same hotel and he accepted a lift from me to the golf course during the Kerrygold Classic. Apart from ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’, the number of words he proffered on the 20-minute journey could have been counted on the fingers of one hand. Taciturn he clearly was, but a sportsman's build, shaggy blond hair, a warm smile and an ability to enjoy himself, made him extremely popular with both sexes. And he had a golf game to match this appeal. As geography has ordained for Australians, he found himself obliged to become an international player. And between his professional debut in 1971 and the middle of 1975, Newton had six tournament victories, the Dutch Open, Benson and Hedges Festival and City of Auckland Open in 1972; the Nigerian Open and Benson and Hedges Match-play in 1974 and the Sumrie Better-Ball with Ireland's John O'Leary in May 1975. By then, he was married to his English wife, Jackie. Jack Newton's remarkable acceptance of his fate became one of the most noble of sporting stories. As he remarked philosophically: ‘I had two young kids and a great wife, a great family and the golfing world really got behind me.
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He returned to golf, playing one-handed to a high standard and got involved in golf-course architecture, quite apart from extensive broadcasting activities and a role as chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation.
He went to the Open Championship at Carnoustie that year with an irresistible putting stroke, courtesy of the game's greatest player. ‘I picked up something watching Jack Nicklaus in a practice round,’ he explained. Having won some money from Tom Weiskopf in an exhibition match in Australia, Newton challenged the so-called Towering Inferno to get it back. ‘Bring a good partner,’ he teased. So Weiskopf brought Nicklaus while Newton renewed his triumphant Sumrie partnership with Dubliner O'Leary. After two early birdies, the young Aussie ribbed Weiskopf: ‘We're going to kick your butt, Tom. Better go back to the clubhouse and get a new partner.’ He later suspected the
Senior Times | May - June 2022 | www.seniortimes.ie
