{{Short description|South African golfer}} {{use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Wayne Westner | image = Wayne Westner00.jpg | imagesize = 200px | caption = | fullname = Wayne Brett Westner | nickname = Westy | birth_date = {{birth date|1961|9|28|df=y}} | birth_place = Johannesburg, South Africa | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|1|4|1961|9|28|df=y}} | death_place = Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | height = {{height|m=1.80|precision=0}} | weight = {{convert|82|kg|lb st|abbr=on}} | nationality = {{ZAF}} | spouse = Alison Jean Westner | partner = | children = | college = | yearpro = 1982 | retired = <!-- Year retired --> | extour = European Tour<br>Sunshine Tour | prowins = 13 | eurowins = 2 | sunwins = 7 | otherwins = 5 | majorwins = <!-- Number of Major Championship wins --> | masters = DNP | usopen = T50: 1996 | open = T34: 1993 | pga = DNP | wghofid = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID --> | wghofyear = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted --> | award1 = Southern Africa Tour<br>Order of Merit winner | year1 = 1995–96 | awardssection = <!-- location of awards page or section --> | module = {{Infobox person|embed=yes | signature = Wayne_Westner_signature.jpg }} }} '''Wayne Brett Westner''' (28 September 1961 {{ndash}} 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.
==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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf-old-club-aids-bottomley-1165793.html |title=Old club aids Bottomley |work=The Independent |date=18 June 1998 |accessdate=18 August 2009 |location=London |first=John |last=Oakley}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Keogh>{{cite news |last=Keogh |first=Brian |title=Wayne's world – Westner wants to bring golf to the masses with simple invention |url=http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2015/12/16/waynes-world-westner-wants-to-bring-golf-to-the-masses-with-simple-invention |accessdate=5 January 2017 |work=Irish Golf Desk |date=16 December 2015}}</ref>
== Personal life == As of 1991, Westner was a born-again Christian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Daily Telegraph 11 Feb 1991, page 38 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/751451077/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>
Westner died by suicide in Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, on 4 January 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golf.com/knockdown/2017/12/11/wayne-westner-outdrove-nicklaus-and-outdueled-els-so-how-did-he-end-gun-his-head |title=Troubled Off The Tee |website=golf.com |date=4 January 2017}}</ref>
==Professional wins (13)== ===European Tour wins (2)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!! Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runner-up |- |align=center|1 |align=right|31 Jan 1993 |Dubai Desert Classic |−14 (69-66-69-70=274) |2 strokes |{{flagicon|ZAF|1982}} Retief Goosen |- |align=center|2 |align=right|25 Feb 1996 |FNB Players Championship<sup>1</sup> |−18 (66-67-67-70=270) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|ARG}} José Cóceres |} <sup>1</sup>Co-sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour
'''European Tour playoff record (0–1)''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result |-style="background:#F2C1D1;" |align=center|1 |1992 |Carroll's Irish Open |{{flagicon|ENG}} Nick Faldo |Lost after concession on fourth extra hole |}
===Southern Africa Tour wins (7)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!! Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runner(s)-up |- |align=center|1 |align=right|5 Feb 1983 |ICL Tournament Players Classic |−15 (71-66-68-68=273) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|ZAF|1982}} Allan Henning |- |align=center|2 |align=right|31 Jan 1988 |Southern Suns South African Open |−13 (69-70-65-71=275) |2 strokes |{{flagicon|ENG}} Ian Mosey |- |align=center|3 |align=right|2 Feb 1991 |Protea Assurance South African Open (2) |−16 (65-70-69-68=272) |4 strokes |{{flagicon|ENG}} Mark James, {{flagicon|ZIM}} Tony Johnstone |- |align=center|4 |align=right|9 Feb 1991 |AECI Charity Classic |−15 (69-69-70-65=273) |3 strokes |{{flagicon|USA}} Tommy Tolles |- |align=center|5 |align=right|28 Jan 1996 |San Lameer South African Masters |−8 (69-68-70-73=280) |3 strokes |{{flagicon|USA}} Patrick Moore, {{flagicon|ZAF}} Warren Schutte,<br>{{flagicon|ZAF}} Chris Williams |- |align=center|6 |align=right|4 Feb 1996 |Nashua Wild Coast Sun Classic |−12 (66-68-69-65=268) |4 strokes |{{flagicon|USA}} Michael Christie, {{flagicon|USA}} Greg Petersen |- |align=center|7 |align=right|25 Feb 1996 |FNB Players Championship<sup>1</sup> |−18 (66-67-67-70=270) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|ARG}} José Cóceres |} <sup>1</sup>Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
'''Southern Africa Tour playoff record (0–2)''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result |-style="background:#F2C1D1;" |align=center|1 |1987 |AECI Charity Classic |{{flagicon|ZIM}} Mark McNulty |Lost to birdie on first extra hole |-style="background:#F2C1D1;" |align=center|2 |1996 |Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic |{{flagicon|ZAF}} 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)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runners-up |- |align=center|1 |align=right|24 Nov 1996 |World Cup of Golf<br>(with {{flagicon|ZAF}} Ernie Els) |−29 (136-144-130-137=547) |18 strokes |{{USA}} − Steve Jones and Tom Lehman |}
==Results in major championships== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;" !Tournament !1983 !1984 !1985 !1986 !1987 !1988 !1989 !1990 !1991 !1992 !1993 !1994 !1995 !1996 !1997 |- |align=left|U.S. Open |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T50 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|The Open Championship |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |71 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T34 |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |CUT |} ''Note: Westner never played in the Masters Tournament nor the PGA Championship.''<br> {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the half-way cut<br> "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)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{EuroTour player|207}} *{{SunshineTour player|WES005}} *{{OWGR|456}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westner, Wayne}} Category:South African male golfers Category:Sunshine Tour golfers Category:European Tour golfers Category:Suicides by firearm in South Africa Category:Golfers from Johannesburg Category:White South African people Category:1961 births Category:2017 suicides Category:2017 deaths Category:20th-century South African sportsmen