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 name	Wayne Brett Westner
Nickname	Westy
Born	(1961-09-28)28 September 1961 Johannesburg, South Africa
Died	4 January 2017(2017-01-04) (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
Southern Africa Tour Order of Merit winner 1995–96

Early life

Westner was born in Johannesburg.

Professional career

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

As of 1991, Westner was a born-again Christian.^[4]

Westner died by suicide in Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, on 4 January 2017.^[5]

Professional wins (13)

European Tour wins (2)

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)

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)

• 1989 Southern Africa Tour Winter Championship
• 1990 PX Pro-Celebrity Classic, Sun City Classic
• 1992 Wild Coast Sun Classic

Other wins (1)

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

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

• Dunhill Cup (representing South Africa): 1994, 1996
• World Cup (representing South Africa): 1994, 1996 (winners), 1997
• Alfred Dunhill Challenge (representing Southern Africa): 1995 (winners)