Hacker posts unflattering golf scores on Trump’s account

BRISBANE, Australia — Jack Newton, who lost to Tom Watson in a 1975 Open Championship playoff and tied for second behind Seve Ballesteros at the 1980 Masters before his professional golf career ended in a near-fatal aircraft propeller accident, has died. He was 72. Newton, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, died early Friday due to “health complications,” his family said in a statement. “(He) was a fearless competitor and iconic Australian, blazing a formidable trail during his professional golfing career,” his family added. “He fought back from tremendous adversity as only he could.” Newton won the PGA TOUR’s Buick Open in 1978 and the Australian Open in 1979 and three tournaments in Europe before his career —- and nearly his life — ended when he walked into the propeller of a small plane he was about to board at Sydney airport on July 24, 1983. His right arm was severed, he lost sight in his right eye and also sustained severe injuries to his abdomen. Doctors gave him only a 50-50 chance of surviving, and he spent nearly two months in intensive care and required lengthy rehabilitation from his injuries. “Things weren’t looking too good for me. I knew that from the priest walking around my (hospital) bed,” Newton said later. He was 33 at the time of the accident. Despite his near-death experience, Newton and his jovial personality returned to public life. He became a popular television, radio and newspaper golf commentator, golf course designer and chairman of the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for golf’s up-and-coming players in Australia. The foundation’s annual tournament attracted a who’s who of celebrities and pro golfers in Australia, most of whom dressed up in outlandish costumes as encouraged each year by Newton. Not to be denied from playing the game he loved, he taught himself to play golf one-handed, swinging the club with his left hand in a right-handed stance. He regularly had scores in the mid-80s for 18 holes. That translates to a handicap of about 12 or 14, one that most able-bodied amateur players would aspire to. Newton turned professional in 1971 on the European Tour (DP World Tour) and won his first event, the Dutch Open, the following year. A week later, he won another tournament at Fulford, England and, in 1974, the tour’s match play championship. The Australian’s playoff loss in the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie came after Watson had a few rather fortuitous shots. A wire fence kept Watson’s ball in bounds on the eighth hole and the American chipped for eagle at the 14th to claim the Claret Jug by a shot over Newton. “I always felt that if I came into a major with some good form, then I could be dangerous,” Newton had said. “That’s the way I played golf. Once I got my tail up I wasn’t afraid of anybody.” Australian golfer Greg Chalmers said on Twitter: “Every journey starts somewhere, mine was in golf tournaments under the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation.” Fellow Aussie pro James Nitties said: “Jack Newton not only an amazing golfer but what he and his family did for charity and junior golf in Australia was truly amazing.” PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman praised Newton’s impact on the game Down Under. “Jack has been such an influential figure in Australian golf and his contribution and legacy will live on for many decades to come,” Kirkman said. “He was as tough off the course as he was on it. Yet underlying everything was his deep passion for the game of golf and the positive impact it could have on people’s lives, particularly young people.” Newton is survived by his wife, Jackie, and two children, Kristie and Clint, and six grandchildren. Kristie was a pro golfer and Clint Newton, who was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, played rugby league in Australia and Britain and represented the United States at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. “His passion for sport and contributing to future generations of golfers and the Australian community demonstrates the character of our father, beloved husband, proud brother, adoring grandfather, and maverick mate,” his family said in the statement.

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CROMWELL, Conn. — Rory McIlroy fought off a sinus bug to shoot an 8-under 62 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with J.T. Poston in the Travelers Championship. Coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the U.S. Open after winning the Canadian Open the previous week, the second-ranked McIlroy had a bogey-free morning round — highlighted by a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh. McIlroy matched the lowest opening round of his PGA TOUR career. He finished with a tap-in birdie on the ninth hole after a 332-yard drive and 44-foot chip just past the pin. “It’s like U.S. Open rehab coming here,” the four-time major champion said. “I like coming here the week after the U.S. Open, it sort of gives you an opportunity to shoot low scores and get after it.” Poston had five straight birdies on Nos. 13-17 and made the turn at 6-under 29, giving rise to thoughts of Jim Furyk’s record 58 on the same TPC River Highlands course in 2016. Poston parred the first six holes on front nine and birdied Nos. 7 and 9 to cap a bogey-free round. “I gave myself a few looks, but kind of made a bunch of pars to start the front, so that was kind of out of the picture after a little while,” said Poston, the 2019 Wyndham Championship winner. “I might have thought about it a little more if I had made a couple of early birdies.” Xander Schauffele and Martin Laird were a stroke back. Schauffele hit all 18 greens in regulation for the first time in his career, despite showing up late at the practice range because he thought his 7:35 a.m. tee time was at 7:50. “That was a pretty big rookie move on my behalf,” the Olympic champion said. “But when I’m at home, I’ll show up for an 8 o’clock tee time at 7:55, maybe hit two putts and then start swinging. So, take advantage of the youth, I guess.” Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell III and Webb Simpson, who played alongside McIlroy, were two shots back at 64. “We kind of fed off each other,” Simpson said about McIlroy. “The holes started looking bigger and bigger. A lot of putts were made.” Rain on Wednesday left the greens soft in the morning. They hardened later in the day and the wind picked up after lunch, leading to some higher scores. “I thought the conditions in the afternoon were a lot tougher,” Cantlay said. “It was blowing as soon as I got on the first tee. Watching a little bit of the coverage this morning, I knew it was much different this afternoon than the low scores those guys put up this morning.” Harris English, who won last year on the eighth hole of a playoff, opened with a 66. Top-ranked mastes champion Scottie Scheffler had a 68. Jordan Spieth, who holed a shot out of a greenside bunker on 18 to win here in 2018, had one of the tougher afternoons. He made a double bogey on 12, hitting his tee shot out-of-bounds near the Connecticut River. The three-time major winner sat cross-legged in the fairway as he attempted to regroup and then birdied two of his next three holes. But his tee shot at 16 found the water and he finished with a 75.

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