Ross R. Newdick (1936/1937 – November 2005) was a professional golfer from New Zealand. He had a successful amateur career winning the New Zealand Amateur Championship in 1960. He turned professional in 1963 and won the

New Zealand PGA Championship The New Zealand PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament held by the New Zealand PGA. It is generally an event on the PGA Tour of Australasia but in some years has been held as a non-tour event. In 2024, it was held on the Charles Tour for t ...

and the Singapore Open in 1966.

Amateur career

Newdick won the

New Zealand Amateur The New Zealand Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of New Zealand. It has been played annually since 1893, except for the war years and the COVID-19 pandemic, and is organised by New Zealand Golf. Currently the event is played o ...

in 1960, beating Ian Woodbury, 8 and 7, in the final at

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. He represented New Zealand each year from 1959 to 1963, in the

Commonwealth Tournament The Commonwealth Tournament was a men's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It was played roughly every four years, in 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975. I ...

in 1959 and 1963, in the

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

and

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and in the

Sloan Morpeth Trophy The Sloan Morpeth Trophy was an amateur team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand. It was contested irregularly from 1947 to 2016. The trophy was presented by Sloan Morpeth in 1956. From 1993 to 2005 the two countries played ea ...

in 1961. In the Eisenhower Trophy, New Zealand finished 5th in 1960 and 4th in 1962.

Professional career

Newdick turned professional in late 1963. He won both the

and the Singapore Open in early 1966. In January, he won the New Zealand PGA Championship after a final round of 64 to win by a stroke. In March, he won the Singapore Open, beating Lu Liang-Huan and

George Will George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for ''The Washington Post'' on a regular basis and provides commentary for '' NewsNation''. In 1986, ''The Wall ...

at the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Newdick had been runner-up in the 1965 Hong Kong Open and in the 1965 Metalcraft Tournament, behind Peter Thomson on both occasions. He played in Europe in 1964, 1965 and 1966, playing in the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in 1964 and 1965. In the

1965 Open Championship The 1965 Open Championship was the 94th Open Championship, played 7–9 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Peter Thomson won his fifth Claret Jug, two strokes ahead of runners-up Brian Huggett and Christy O'Connor Snr. ...

Royal Birkdale Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Cham ...

, he made the cut after rounds of 75 and 72. He was runner-up in the German Open in 1966.

Later life

After retiring from tournament golf, Newdick was involved golf course design and development. In 2005, while working in China, he was diagnosed with cancer and died two months later.

Amateur wins

*1960

Professional wins (2)

Far East Circuit wins (1)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (1–0)

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (1)

*1966

Results in major championships

''Note: Newdick only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing New Zealand): 1959, 1963 *

(representing New Zealand):

(representing New Zealand): 1961 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newdick, Ross New Zealand male golfers Golfers from Queensland Sportspeople from the Sunshine Coast 1930s births 2005 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen