Tony Johnstone
Quick Facts
Biography
Anthony Alastair Johnstone (born 2 May 1956) is a Zimbabwean professional golfer.
Johnstone was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia and attended Christian Brothers College. He lives in Sunningdale in England. He turned professional in 1979 and has spent his career playing mainly on the Southern African Sunshine Tour and in Europe. He won six times on the European Tour and finished a career best seventh on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1992. His most prestigious win came at the 1992 British PGA Championship. He won seventeen times on the Sunshine Tour, including one co-sanctioned event also included in his European Tour win tally, and he topped that tour's Order of Merit in 1988/89 and 1993/94. He has represented Zimbabwe in international competition many times.
In 2004 Johnstone was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, possibly ending his playing career. With a revolutionary drug treatment, he appears to have put his MS in remission and made his European Seniors Tour debut shortly after turning fifty in 2006. In 2008 he won his first EST event, the Jersey Seniors Classic. He won his second event on the Senior tour in 2009 at the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters.
Johnstone is noted for his excellent short game and topped the European Tour's short game statistics in 1998, 1999 and 2000. He has also worked as a golf broadcaster.
Professional wins (25)
European Tour wins (6)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 Nov 1984 | Portuguese Open | −14 (70-69-67-68=274) | 3 strokes | Michael King |
2 | 12 Aug 1990 | Murphy's Cup | 50 pts (6-23-6-15=50) | 2 pts | Malcolm MacKenzie |
3 | 9 Jun 1991 | Murphy's Cup (2) | 40 pts (10-9-9-12=40) | Playoff | Eamonn Darcy |
4 | 25 May 1992 | Volvo PGA Championship | −16 (67-70-70-65=272) | 2 strokes | Gordon Brand, Jnr, José María Olazábal |
5 | 15 Feb 1998 | Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour) | −17 (68-64-67-72=271) | 2 strokes | Ernie Els |
6 | 11 Mar 2001 | Qatar Masters | −14 (68-70-66-70=274) | 2 strokes | Robert Karlsson |
European Tour playoff record (1–4)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1981 | Swiss Open | Antonio Garrido, Manuel Piñero | Piñero won with birdie on first extra hole |
2 | 1991 | Murphy's Cup | Eamonn Darcy | Won with eagle on second extra hole |
3 | 1992 | Benson & Hedges International Open | Peter Senior | Lost to par on first extra hole |
4 | 1992 | Dunhill British Masters | Christy O'Connor Jnr | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
5 | 1996 | Turespana Masters | Diego Borrego | Lost to par on third extra hole |
Sunshine Tour wins (17)
- 1984 South African Open, Charity Classic, South African Masters
- 1986 Goodyear Classic
- 1987 ICL International, Minolta Copiers Match Play, Wild Coast Classic
- 1988 ICL International, Minolta Copiers Match Play, Bloemfontein Classic
- 1989 South African PGA Championship
- 1990 Palabora Classic
- 1993 South African Masters, Zimbabwe Open, Philips South African Open (Dec.)
- 1994 Bell's Cup
- 1998 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (co-sanctioned with European Tour)
Other wins
- 2009 Gary Player Invitational (with Ángel Cabrera)
European Senior Tour wins (2)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 Jun 2008 | Jersey Seniors Classic | −3 (69-70-74=213) | 2 strokes | Gordon J. Brand, Ross Drummond, Ángel Franco, Bertus Smit |
2 | 6 Sep 2009 | Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters | −10 (69-71-66=206) | 1 stroke | Peter Senior |
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T77 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T39 | CUT | DNP | CUT | T52 | DNP | T73 | T34 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Rhodesia): 1976
Professional
- Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 1982
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Zimbabwe): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
- World Cup (representing Zimbabwe): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
- Alfred Dunhill Challenge (representing Southern Africa): 1995 (winners)