Ivo Harrington Whitton (9 December 1893 – 2 July 1967) was an Australian amateur golfer, who, along with Greg Norman, is the only Australian to have won the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

five times (1912, 1913, 1926, 1929 and 1931). Whitton was born in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, his father Percy Whitton was a senior public servant. The younger Whitton took up golfing at the age of 14, joining his father in the Caulfield Golf Club (later the Metropolitan Golf Club) the next year, and winning the club championships three times. In 1911, he began working at a wool broking firm which allowed him time off to play golf during the off-season. In 1914, he competed at The Amateur Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club. He returned to Australia but then came back to England during World War I to serve with the Royal Garrison Artillery after being rejected by the Australian Imperial Force.A. G. L. Shaw
Whitton, Ivo Harrington (1893 - 1967)
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 480. In 1912, Whitton won his first

championship, and went on to win four more in 1913, 1926, 1929 and 1931. He also won the

Australian Amateur The Australian Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It has been played annually since 1894, except for the war years, and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, from 2021 it has b ...

twice, the

Victorian Amateur Championship The Victorian Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of Victoria, Australia. It has been played annually since 1899, except for the war years. Two players have won the championship six times, Michael Scott between 1904 a ...

five times, the

New South Wales Amateur The New South Wales Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of New South Wales, Australia. It was first played in 1898. History In early 1898 Lord Hampden, the Governor of New South Wales, presented a solid silver cup to th ...

and the Queensland Amateur and Open. In 1920, Whitton won the Helms Award as the most outstanding Australasian athlete. He returned to the wool industry as a wool appraiser for the Australian government, but ended up as a general manager for the Spalding sporting goods company. The Victorian Golf Association established the Ivo Whitton Trophy in 1960 for the lowest average stroke score in designated tournaments held each year. Whitton himself presented the award to the inaugural winner, Kevin Hartley, who went on to win it a further eleven times.Ivo Whitton Trophy
Victorian Golf Association. In addition, the Royal Melbourne Golf Club instituted the Ivo Whitton Cup in Whitton's memory. One of the streets in Kambah, a suburb of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, is named Ivo Whitton Circuit. After his death, Whitton was buried in the Cheltenham Memorial Park, Melbourne. A group of local Melbourne golfers regularly play-off in a 9-hole stroke play event for the Ivo Whitton Perpetual Trophy at Burnley Golf Course to honour his memory.

Tournament wins

*1912

Riversdale Trophy The Riversdale Cup is the second oldest amateur golf tournament in Australia. It is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event has been played since 1896 and is organised by and played at the Riversdale Golf Club in Mount Waverley, Victoria. ...

*1913

*1919

*1920

*1922

*1923

, Queensland Amateur *1924

*1925

*1926

*1928 Queensland Open *1929

*1931

Team appearances

Kirk-Windeyer Cup The Kirk-Windeyer Cup was an amateur team golf tournament, played between New Zealand and individual states of Australia. It was played annually from 1927 to 1930, then in 1932 and, finally, in 1934. New Zealand and New South Wales played in all s ...

(representing Victoria): 1927 * Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing Victoria): 1912 (winners), 1913 (winners), 1920, 1921 (winners), 1922, 1923 (winners), 1924 (winners), 1926 (winners), 1927 (winners), 1929 (winners), 1930 (winners), 1931 (winners), 1932, 1933 (winners), 1935, 1938

References

External links

Friends of Cheltenham and Regional Cemeteries Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitton, Ivo Australian male golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from Melbourne Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery officers Military personnel from Melbourne People from Moonee Ponds, Victoria Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia) 1893 births 1967 deaths