Jeff Hawkes

{{short description|South African professional golfer (born 1953)}}

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Jeff Hawkes

| image = Senior Open 2010 Jeff Hawkes.JPG

| imagesize =

| caption =

| fullname = Jeffrey Owen Hawkes

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|9|3|df=y}}

| birth_place = Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|m=1.77|precision=0}}

| weight =

| nationality = {{ZAF}}

| residence = Bruma, Gauteng, South Africa
Bracknell, England

| spouse =

| partner =

| children = 2

| college =

| yearpro = 1974

| tour =

| extour = European Tour
Sunshine Tour
European Senior Tour

| prowins = 5

| eurowins = 1

| sunwins = 3

| otherwins = 1

| majorwins =

| masters = DNP

| usopen = DNP

| open = T30: 1989

| pga = DNP

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 =

| year1 =

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

}}

Jeffrey Owen Hawkes (born 3 September 1953) is a South African professional golfer, who formerly played on the European Tour. In 1991, he won the Canon European Masters Swiss Open.

Early life

Hawkes was born in Mthatha (then Umtata), Eastern Cape, South Africa.{{cite web |title=Player Profile, Jeff Hawkes, Meet Jeff |url=https://www.europeantour.com/players/80/ |publisher=European Tour |access-date=2024-10-17}} In addition to his home in Bruma near Johannesburg, he also resides in Bracknell, England.

Amateur career

Hawkes represented South Africa at the 1974 Eisenhower Trophy in the Dominican Republic, where he finished tied tenth individually and fourth with his team, behind United States, Japan and Brazil.

Professional career

In 1974, Hawkes turned professional. He played on the European Tour for over twenty years, making the top one hundred on the European Tour Order of Merit every year from 1977 to 1991, with a best ranking of 34th in 1987.

In 1982, Hawkes was part of the ten-man-team representing Rest of World, under the captaincy of Greg Norman, in the Hennessy Cognac Cup, a team event between Great Britain and Ireland, Continent of Europe and Rest of World.

In 1985, Hawkes finished second, reaching his best finish so far on the European Tour, at the Sanyo Open at Real Club de Golf El Prat, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain. In May 1987, Hawkes finished second to Mats Lanner at the European Tour match-play event Epson Grand Prix of Europe Matchplay Championship at St Pierre Golf & Country Club in Wales, losing with 1 hole on the last green in the final.{{cite magazine |date=June 1987 |title=Vilken fullträff för Mats |trans-title=What a success for Mats |first=Lars-Åke |last=Persson |url=https://www.e-magin.se/paper/j0btbf03/paper/1#/paper/dcxf7m73/100 |magazine=Svensk Golf |language=sv |pages=101–102 |number=6 |access-date=2024-10-17}} In the semi-final, Hawkes beat Seve Ballesteros 3 and 2.{{cite news |date=11 May 1987 |title=Golf, Epson Match Play |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzJUAAAAIBAJ&dq=Jeff+Hawkes&pg=PA11&article_id=5679,3628214 |newspaper=Boca Raton News |pages=3D |access-date=2024-10-17}} Another second place finish came at the 1989 Torras Monte Carlo Golf Open at Monte Carlo Golf Club outside Monaco.{{cite web |title=Player Profile, Jeff Hawkes, Career Record Details |url=https://www.europeantour.com/players/80/career-record?tour=dpworld-tour |publisher=European Tour |access-date=2024-10-17}}

His sole European Tour win came at the 1991 Canon European Masters Swiss Open, were he held on a late charge from Seve Ballesteros, who finished one shot behind.{{cite magazine |last=Sellberg |first=Lena |date=November 1991 |title=Tävling, Volvo Tour, Jeff Hawkes; Resultat, Volvo Tour, Canon European Masters Swiss Open |trans-title=Competition, Volvo Tour, Jeff Hawkes; Results, Volvo Tour, Canon European Masters Swiss Open |url=https://www.e-magin.se/paper/j0btbf03/paper/1#/paper/hr53s9jh/76 |magazine=Svensk Golf |pages=73, 77 |language=sv |number=11 |access-date=2024-10-17}}

Hawkes has also won three tournaments 1988-1989 on the Southern Africa Tour, later named the Sunshine Tour.

His best finish in a major championship was tied 30th in The 1989 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club, Scotland,{{cite web |date=July 1989 |title=1989 Open Championship, Leaderboard |url=https://www.theopen.com/previous-opens/118th-open-Royal-Troon-1989#leaderboard |publisher=R&A |access-date=2024-10-17}} after which he reached a career best 89th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Hawkes joined the European Seniors Tour in 2004, but did not win at that level, although his playing schedule was rather limited as he also worked as a golf commentator and analyst for Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and ran his own waste management business in South Africa. He played his last tournament in 2010.

Professional wins (5)

=European Tour wins (1)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of
victory!!Runner-up

align=center|1

|align=right|8 Sep 1991

|Canon European Masters Swiss Open

|−20 (68-69-65-66=268)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Seve Ballesteros

=Southern Africa Tour wins (3)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of
victory!!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|13 Feb 1988

|Bloemfontein Classic

|−20 (64-69-66-69=268)

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|ZAF|1982}} John Bland, {{flagicon|USA}} Jay Townsend

align=center|2

|align=right|11 Feb 1989

|AECI Charity Classic

|−15 (67-64-70=201)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|ZIM}} Tony Johnstone

align=center|3

|align=right|19 Feb 1989

|Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic

|−14 (67-66-69=202)*

|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} John Daly, {{flagicon|SWZ}} Joe Dlamini

*Note: The 1989 Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

=Other wins (1)=

1979 Rolex Pro-Am (Switzerland)

Results in major championships

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1977

!1978

!1979

!1980

!1981

!1982

!1983

!1984

!1985

!1986

!1987

!1988

!1989

!1990

align=left|The Open Championship

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T46

|74

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T30

|CUT

Note: Hawkes only played in The Open Championship.

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1977 and 1982 Open Championships)

"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Africa): 1974{{cite web |url=https://www.igfgolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1974-WAGTC.pdf |title=Record Book 1974 World Amateur Golf Team Championships |publisher=World Amateur Golf Council |accessdate=27 October 2018 |archive-date=28 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028073816/https://www.igfgolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1974-WAGTC.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Professional

Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 1982{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U8NAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BKYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6063%2C2400495 |title=James proves too hot for Faldo |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=13 September 1982 |access-date=19 October 2024 |page=16}}