Jun 20th, 2018

Jun 20th, 2018

Australian golfing legend Peter Thomson has died after losing a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Thomson passed away at 9am on Wednesday surrounded by his family at his Melbourne home just two months short of his 89th birthday.

He was the first Australian to win the British Open and went on to secure the title five times between 1954 and 1965. The record was later equalled by American Tom Watson.

(AAP) Australian golfing legend Peter Thomson was praised for his golf swing. (AAP)

Thomson also starred on the American senior circuit after winning nine times in 1985 to set a record that may never be broken.

He was just as influential off the course after serving as president of the Australian PGA for 32 years. He helped build and design courses in Australia and around the world, helped establish the Asian Tour, and was patron of the Australian Golf Writers Association.

Thomson also collected three Australian Open titles among 34 victories on the Australasian Tour and 21 - as well as his Open Championships - on the European Tour.

"It has all been one long piece of fun," Thomson once said.

"Playing golf in my day didn't have the pressures associated with it that came along later.

(AAP) Peter Thomson at the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne in 2016. (AAP)

"The thing about those days was that it was such a paltry prize they put up.

"The money was gone by Christmas.

"I'm not sure how much it was but it was nearly negligible. You couldn't buy a Jaguar car with it, I remember that."

The point is illustrated well by the fact that Thomson had to borrow a jacket from an Australian friend for the presentation at the 1956 Open. When he handed back the jacket the cheque was still in the pocket.

Long after the two had returned to Melbourne his friend found the cheque in the jacket pocket and returned it to its rightful owner, who had forgotten all about it.

Thomson regarded the 1965 Open at Royal Birkdale as the crowning achievement of his career because to win it he had to beat the three greatest players in the world - Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

"They were certainly the best there was at the time and everybody expected one of them to win it," he said.

"But somehow or another I managed to beat them. I thought that was an achievement, frankly."

Watson is survived by his wife Mary, son Andrew and daughters Deirdre Baker, Pan Prendergast and Fiona Stanway, their spouses, 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.