Jack Newton taken ill with meningitis

Former Open Championship and US Masters runner-up Jack Newton is recovering after contracting a serious form of meningitis.
The Australian is expected to be released from hospital in Newcastle, north of Sydney, within five days after falling ill with meningococcal meningitis.

Newton, 52, now a TV golf commentator, writer and course designer, turned professional in 1970 and won the Dutch Open and Benson & Hedges Classic two years later.

In 1975 he was runner-up at the British Open, losing by one stroke to Tom Watson in an 18-hole playoff.

After winning over 20 tournaments on four continents, Newton switched to the PGA Tour and was runner-up to Seve Ballesteros in the 1980 Masters.

However, his career was cut short in tragic circumstances three years later.

Newton lost his right arm and the sight in his right eye when he walked into an airplane's propeller at an airport.

He hosts the annual Jack Newton Celebrity Golf Classic on Australia's Sunshine Coast.

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