John Panton, MBE was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

er, who represented Great Britain three times in the Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

.

Panton was born in Pitlochry

Pitlochry

Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....

. He turned professional in 1935 and took up a job in the local golf club shop

Pro shop

A pro shop is a sporting-goods shop within a public or private-membership amateur sporting activities facility of some kind, most commonly a golf course, where it will typically be located in the country club building...

. After serving in the army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he went on to win many prestigious tournaments including the 1956 PGA Match Play Championship, the 1950 Silver King Tournament, the 1951 Daks Tournament

Daks Tournament

The Daks Tournament was a golf tournament of the European circuit from 1950 to 1971. It was played at a number of different locations in England.-Tournament hosts:-Winners:*1971 Neil Coles and Brian Huggett *1970 Neil Coles*1969 Brian Huggett...

 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

Professional golfer

In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...

 at Glenbervie Golf Club until 1984. Later in his career, he won the PGA Seniors Championship

PGA Seniors Championship

The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Seniors Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957, and became part of the European Seniors Tour on its founding in 1992. It was played at the Royal Dublin Golf Club in the Republic of Ireland that year, but since 1993 it has...

 twice, in 1967 and 1969, and the World Seniors Championship in 1967, defeating Sam Snead

Sam Snead

Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...

 3 and 2 in the final.

Panton was appointed honorary professional to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world . It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf"...

 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 12 times in the World Cup between 1955 and 1968.

Panton's daughter, Catherine Panton-Lewis

Catherine Panton-Lewis

Catherine Rita Panton-Lewis is a Scottish professional golfer who was a founding member of the Ladies European Tour and won its first Order of Merit. Her father was John Panton, MBE, a professional golfer who played on three Ryder Cup teams.Panton was born in Bridge of Allan, Scotland...

, is a professional golfer and was a founding member of the Ladies European Tour

Ladies European Tour

The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. It is based in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money,...

.

Beverage

In common with Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

, Panton had a beverage named after him in his home country. A John Panton is a non-alcoholic drink consisting of ginger beer

Ginger beer

Ginger beer is a carbonated drink that is flavored primarily with ginger and sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners.-History:Brewed ginger beer originated in England in the mid-18th century and became popular in Britain, the United States, and Canada, reaching a peak of popularity in the...

 mixed with a dash of lime

Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...

 cordial

Squash (drink)

Squash is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup that is usually fruit-flavoured and usually made from fruit juice, water, and sugar or a sugar substitute. Modern squashes may also contain food colouring and additional flavouring...

.

Professional wins

This list is incomplete

• 1948 Northern Open, Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1949 Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1950 Silver King Tournament, Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1951 Daks Tournament
  Daks Tournament
  The Daks Tournament was a golf tournament of the European circuit from 1950 to 1971. It was played at a number of different locations in England.-Tournament hosts:-Winners:*1971 Neil Coles and Brian Huggett *1970 Neil Coles*1969 Brian Huggett...
  
  , Northern Open, Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1952 North British-Harrogate Tournament, Northern Open
• 1954 Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1955 Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1956 News of the World Match Play, Northern Open
• 1958 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany)
• 1959 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany), Northern Open, Scottish Professionals Championship
• 1960 Woodlawn Invitation Open (Germany), Northern Open
• 1962 Northern Open
• 1966 Scottish Professionals Championship (tied with Eric Brown
  Eric Brown (golfer)
  Eric Chalmers Brown was a Scottish professional golfer.Brown was born in Bathgate and played at the local golf course. He represented Great Britain in the Ryder Cup in 1953, 1955, 1957 and 1959 and had a 4-4-0 win-loss-half record. He won all of his four singles matches but lost his four foursomes...
  
  )
• 1967 World Seniors Championship, PGA Seniors Championship
  PGA Seniors Championship
  The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Seniors Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957, and became part of the European Seniors Tour on its founding in 1992. It was played at the Royal Dublin Golf Club in the Republic of Ireland that year, but since 1993 it has...
  
  
• 1969 PGA Seniors Championship
  PGA Seniors Championship
  The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Seniors Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957, and became part of the European Seniors Tour on its founding in 1992. It was played at the Royal Dublin Golf Club in the Republic of Ireland that year, but since 1993 it has...
  
  

Results in major championships

Panton only played in The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

.

Tournament	1937	1938	1939
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	CUT	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T20	11	T15	T27	CUT	CUT	5	T15	CUT	T5

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	T32	T16	CUT	T34	T10	T50	T47	CUT	45

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T9	CUT	CUT	CUT	T56

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
  Ryder Cup
  The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
  
  : 1951, 1953, 1961
• World Cup: 12 appearances

External links