John Panton Golf player
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.