Tony Johnstone
Anthony Alastair Johnstone 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.
Television work
- Johnstone currently works for Sky Sports as golf commentator. He was also a presenter for a television series called . Three seasons were produced which were filmed in the Kruger Park and Shamwari in South Africa. The two minute episodes were broadcast as fillers during live golf coverage on Sky Sports and also broadcast on SuperGolf on SuperSport.
Professional wins (25)
European Tour wins (6)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
1 | 4 Nov 1984 | Portuguese Open | −14 | 3 strokes | Michael King |
2 | 12 Aug 1990 | Murphy's Cup | 50 pts | 2 points | Malcolm MacKenzie |
3 | 9 Jun 1991 | Murphy's Cup | 40 pts | Playoff | Eamonn Darcy |
4 | 25 May 1992 | Volvo PGA Championship | −16 | 2 strokes | Gordon Brand Jnr, José María Olazábal |
5 | 15 Feb 1998 | Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1 | −17 | 2 strokes | Ernie Els |
6 | 11 Mar 2001 | Qatar Masters | −14 | 2 strokes | Robert Karlsson |
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | 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 | Turespaña 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
- 1994 Bell's Cup
- 1998 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1
Other wins (1)
European Senior Tour wins (2)
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
Amateur- Eisenhower Trophy : 1976
- Hennessy Cognac Cup : 1982
- Alfred Dunhill Cup : 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
- World Cup : 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
- Alfred Dunhill Challenge : 1995