Wayne Brett Westner (28 September 1961 – 4 January 2017) was a South African golfer. He was twice winner of the South African Open and also won twice on the European Tour. In partnership with Ernie Els, they won the 1996 World Cup of Golf, played at the Erinvale Golf Club near Cape Town. Els won the individual event with Westner second and the pair won the team event by 18 shots.
| Wayne Westner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Wayne Brett Westner | ||
| Nickname | Westy | ||
| Born | 28 September 1961 Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Died | 4 January 2017 (aged 55) Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  South Africa | ||
| Spouse | Alison Jean Westner | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 1982 | ||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Sunshine Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 13 | ||
| Highest ranking | 43 (18 July 1993)[1] | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| European Tour | 2 | ||
| Sunshine Tour | 7 | ||
| Other | 5 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Open | T50: 1996 | ||
| The Open Championship | T34: 1993 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early life edit
Westner was born in Johannesburg.
Professional career edit
In 1981, he turned professional. He won several events in his home country, including two South African Opens. He spent many years on the European Tour where he won two tournaments and had a best Order of Merit finish of twentieth in 1993. In the 1992 Carroll's Irish Open, he lost to Nick Faldo at the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff. In partnership with Ernie Els, they won the 1996 World Cup of Golf for South Africa. Westner finished second, behind Els, in the individual event and the pair won the team event by 18 shots. He won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 1995/96.
At the 1998 Madeira Island Open, during the pre-tournament Pro-Am, Westner tore ankle ligaments after falling over six feet when a railway sleeper crumbled under him.[2] He played only once more that season, and was never able to recover. He later ran his own golf college, The Wayne Westner Golf College.[3]
Personal life edit
As of 1991, Westner was a born-again Christian.[4]
Westner committed suicide in Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, on 4 January 2017.[5]
Professional wins (13) edit
European Tour wins (2) edit
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 Jan 1993 | Dubai Desert Classic | −14 (69-66-69-70=274) | 2 strokes |  Retief Goosen
|
| 2 | 25 Feb 1996 | FNB Players Championship1 | −18 (66-67-67-70=270) | 1 stroke |  José Cóceres
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992 | Carroll's Irish Open |  Nick Faldo
|
Lost after concession on fourth extra hole |
Southern Africa Tour wins (7) edit
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Feb 1983 | ICL Tournament Players Classic | −15 (71-66-68-68=273) | 1 stroke | Allan Henning
|
| 2 | 31 Jan 1988 | Southern Suns South African Open | −13 (69-70-65-71=275) | 2 strokes | Ian Mosey
|
| 3 | 2 Feb 1991 | Protea Assurance South African Open (2) | −16 (65-70-69-68=272) | 4 strokes | Mark James,  Tony Johnstone
|
| 4 | 9 Feb 1991 | AECI Charity Classic | −15 (69-69-70-65=273) | 3 strokes |  Tommy Tolles
|
| 5 | 28 Jan 1996 | San Lameer South African Masters | −8 (69-68-70-73=280) | 3 strokes | Patrick Moore, Warren Schutte, Chris Williams
|
| 6 | 4 Feb 1996 | Nashua Wild Coast Sun Classic | −12 (66-68-69-65=268) | 4 strokes | Michael Christie, Greg Petersen
|
| 7 | 25 Feb 1996 | FNB Players Championship1 | −18 (66-67-67-70=270) | 1 stroke | José Cóceres
|
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1987 | AECI Charity Classic | Mark McNulty
|
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1996 | Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic | Richard Kaplan
|
Other South African wins (4) edit
- 1989 Southern Africa Tour Winter Championship
- 1990 PX Pro-Celebrity Classic, Sun City Classic
- 1992 Wild Coast Sun Classic
Other wins (1) edit
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 Nov 1996 | World Cup of Golf (with Ernie Els)
|
−29 (136-144-130-137=547) | 18 strokes |  United States − Steve Jones and Tom Lehman
|
Results in major championships edit
| Tournament | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T50 | ||||||||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | 71 | CUT | T34 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
Note: Westner never played in the Masters Tournament nor the PGA Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Team appearances edit
- Dunhill Cup (representing South Africa): 1994, 1996
- World Cup (representing South Africa): 1994, 1996 (winners), 1997
- Alfred Dunhill Challenge (representing Southern Africa): 1995 (winners)
References edit
- ^ "Week 29 1993 Ending 18 Jul 1993" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ Oakley, John (18 June 1998). "Old club aids Bottomley". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
- ^ Keogh, Brian (16 December 2015). "Wayne's world – Westner wants to bring golf to the masses with simple invention". Irish Golf Desk. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 11 Feb 1991, page 38". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ "Troubled Off The Tee". golf.com. 4 January 2017.
External links edit
- Wayne Westner at the European Tour official site
- Wayne Westner at the Sunshine Tour official site
- Wayne Westner at the Official World Golf Ranking official site