Peter Thomson: Golfer who won five Open Championships dies - BBC News
One of the nation's greatest golfers, he won numerous accolades including five Open Championships.
Peter Thomson holds his third Open Championship trophy in 1956

Peter Thomson, one of Australia's greatest golfers and a five-time Open Championship winner, has died aged 88.

Thomson had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for more than four years and died at his home in Melbourne on Wednesday, Golf Australia said.

In 1954, he became the first Australian to claim the Open Championship in Britain.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, four children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Among numerous accolades, Thomson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001.

Only four other golfers - Harry Vardon, JH Taylor, James Braid and Tom Watson - have won as many Open Championships. Thomson also had great success on the American circuit.

In addition to his playing achievements, he went on to be president of the Australian PGA for 32 years and helped establish the Asian Tour.

Tributes posted online celebrated him as a towering figure of the sport.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Richard Marles This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Richard Hinds This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 3 by Andy Maher This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.