John Panton, MBE (9 October 1916 – 24 July 2009) was a Scottish professional golfer, who represented Great Britain three times in the Ryder Cup.
Panton was born in Pitlochry. He turned professional in 1935 and took up a job in the local golf club shop. After serving in the army during World War II, he went on to win many prestigious tournaments including the 1956 PGA Match Play Championship, the 1950 Silver King Tournament, the 1951 Daks Tournament and the 1952 North British-Harrogate Tournament. He also won the Woodlawn Invitation Open in Germany for three consecutive years from 1958. In Scotland, he dominated, with eight victories in the Scottish Professionals Championship and seven in the Northern Open between 1948 and 1962.
In addition to tournament golf, Panton also served as a club professional at Glenbervie Golf Club until 1984. Later in his career, he won the PGA Seniors Championship twice, in 1967 and 1969, and the World Seniors Championship in 1967, defeating Sam Snead 3 and 2 in the final.
Panton was appointed honorary professional to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 1988, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. In 2005, he was made an honorary life member of the European Tour.
As well as his Ryder Cup appearances in 1951, 1953 and 1961, Panton also represented Scotland 13 times in the World Cup between 1955 and 1968.
Panton's daughter, Catherine Panton-Lewis, is a professional golfer and was a founding member of the Ladies European Tour.
Beverage
In common with Arnold Palmer, Panton had a beverage named after him in his home country. A John Panton is a drink consisting of angostura bitters, ginger beer mixed with a dash of lime cordial.
Professional wins
This list is incomplete
- 1948 Northern Open, Scottish Professional Championship
- 1949 Scottish Professional Championship
- 1950 Silver King Tournament, Scottish Professional Championship
- 1951 Daks Tournament, Northern Open, Scottish Professional Championship
- 1952 North British-Harrogate Tournament, Northern Open, Goodwin (Sheffield) Foursomes Tournament (with Norman Roffe)
- 1954 Scottish Professional Championship, Yorkshire Evening News Tournament
- 1955 Scottish Professional Championship
- 1956 News of the World Match Play, Northern Open, Gleneagles-Saxone Foursomes Tournament (with W Alexander)
- 1958 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany)
- 1959 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany), Northern Open, Scottish Professional Championship
- 1960 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany), Northern Open
- 1962 Northern Open
- 1966 Scottish Professional Championship (tied with Eric Brown)
- 1967 World Seniors Championship, PGA Seniors Championship
- 1969 PGA Seniors Championship
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|
| The Open Championship | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|
| The Open Championship | T20 | 11 | T15 | T27 | CUT | CUT | 5 | T15 | CUT | T5 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|
| The Open Championship | DNP | T32 | T16 | CUT | T34 | T10 | T50 | T47 | CUT | 45 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
|---|
| The Open Championship | T9 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T56 |
Note: The Open Championship was the only major Panton played in.
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Team appearances
- Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain): 1951, 1953, 1961
- World Cup (representing Scotland): 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968
- Joy Cup (representing the British Isles): 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners)
- Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Professionals): 1956 (winners)
- R.T.V. International Trophy (representing Scotland): 1967 (captain)
Libra