Wednesday 4 January 2017 14:35, UK
Former South African professional Wayne Westner has died at the age of 55, police have confirmed.
Westner suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head at his home in Pennington in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, although the local authorities have yet to reveal the circumstances of his death.
Renowned for his power hitting, Westner won 14 titles in his professional career including two South African Opens, while he also held off compatriot Retief Goosen to claim his biggest victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in 1993.
Westner, who also won the World Cup of Golf alongside Ernie Els in 1996, reached a career-high world ranking of 40 after winning twice on the European Tour in 1993, when he finished 20th in the Order of Merit.
He also won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 1995/96, but his playing career was cut short when he suffered a serious ankle injury in a freak accident before the Madeira Islands Open in 1998.
He turned his attentions to coaching and set up his first school in Ireland, and he also opened the Wayne Westner Golf College in KwaZulu-Natal just three years ago while pioneering the golf training concept the Instant Golfer.
Westner made eight appearances in The Open with a best finished of 34th in 1993, and he was 50th in his only other major start at the 1996 US Open.
Els, who is tournament ambassador for next week's BMW SA Open in Gauteng, led the tributes to Westner on his Twitter account.
Els wrote: "Sad day, our friend Wayne Westner passed today. Great memories thank you my friend."
Sky Sports commentator and six-time European Tour winner Tony Johnstone added: "So shocked to hear of the death of Wayne Westner, double former winner of SA Open and winner of Dubai Desert Classic. RIP Westy."
