Wayne Westner

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 nameWayne Brett Westner
NicknameWesty
Born(1961-09-28)28 September 1961
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died4 January 2017(2017-01-04) (aged 55)
Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)
Nationality South Africa
SpouseAlison Jean Westner
Career
Turned professional1982
Former tour(s)Sunshine Tour
European Tour
Professional wins13
Highest ranking43 (18 July 1993)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Sunshine Tour11
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT50: 1996
The Open ChampionshipT34: 1993
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner		1995/96

Biography

Westner was born in Johannesburg. He turned professional in 1981 and 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]

Westner committed suicide in Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, on 4 January 2017. [4]

Professional wins (13)

European Tour wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin 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 Sunshine Tour

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1992 Carroll's Irish Open Nick Faldo Lost after concession on fourth extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (11)

Other wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin 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
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.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

References
  1. "Week 29 1993 Ending 18 Jul 1993" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. Oakley, John (18 June 1998). "Old club aids Bottomley". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  3. 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.
  4. "Troubled Off The Tee". golf.com. 4 January 2017.
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