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Simon Hobday
Personal information
Full name Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday
Nickname Scruffy
Born (1940-06-23)23 June 1940
Mafikeng, South Africa
Died 2 March 2017(2017-03-02) (aged 76)
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Nationality  South Africa
Career
Turned professional 1969
Former tour(s) Sunshine Tour
European Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 17
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 2
Sunshine Tour 6
Champions Tour 5
Other 4
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT: 1995
The Open Championship T19: 1983
PGA Championship DNP

Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday (23 June 1940 – 2 March 2017) was a South African professional golfer who won tournaments on three continents.

Amateur career

Hobday was born in Mafikeng. He lived part of his life in Zambia and represented the country in the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy. In early 1969 he was still was an amateur golfer and still represented Zambia. At the time, he worked as a car salesman in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

In April 1969, while still an amateur, Hobday played the Kenya Open. In the final round he broke the course record at the Muthaiga Golf Course with a 66 (−6) to leap into second place. At 284 (−4) he finished joint runner-up with Scotland's Bernard Gallacher, five behind champion Maurice Bembridge. He defeated several notable professionals including Christy O'Connor Snr and Australia's Bob Tuohy.

Professional career

Hobday turned professional in 1969. He spent his regular career mainly on the Southern Africa Tour, where he won six times and the European Tour, where he won the 1976 German Open and the 1979 Madrid Open. As a senior, he played mainly in the United States on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour), where he claimed five titles between 1993 and 1995 including one senior major, the 1994 U.S. Senior Open.

Hobday also lived in Rhodesia.

Professional wins (17)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 15 Aug 1976 German Open −18 (67-68-65-66=266) 1 stroke Spain Antonio Garrido
2 29 Apr 1979 Madrid Open −3 (67-73-71-74=285) 2 strokes Spain Francisco Abreu, England Gordon J. Brand,
South Africa Tienie Britz

Sunshine Tour wins (6)

  • 1971 South African Open
  • 1978 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters
  • 1978 Victoria Falls Classic
  • 1979 Rhodesian Open
  • 1981 ICL International
  • 1985 Trustbank Tournament of Champions

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 4 Jul 1993 Kroger Senior Classic −11 (67-69-66=202) 1 stroke United States Gibby Gilbert, United States Mike Hill,
United States Bob Reith
2 12 Dec 1993 Hyatt Senior Tour Championship −17 (64-68-67=199) 2 strokes United States Raymond Floyd, United States Larry Gilbert
3 3 Jul 1994 U.S. Senior Open −10 (66-67-66-75=274) 1 stroke United States Jim Albus, Australia Graham Marsh
4 4 Sep 1994 GTE Northwest Classic −7 (70-69-70=209) Playoff United States Jim Albus
5 17 Sep 1995 Brickyard Crossing Championship −12 (71-65-68=204) 1 stroke Japan Isao Aoki, United States Hale Irwin,
United States Bob Murphy, United States Lee Trevino

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1994 GTE Northwest Classic United States Jim Albus Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

  • 1997/98 Vodacom Senior Classic (South Africa)
  • 2001 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Martin Maritz), Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Legendary Division (with Jim Albus)
  • 2003 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Lee Westwood)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship Winning score Margin Runners-up
1994 U.S. Senior Open −10 (66-67-66-75=274) 1 stroke United States Jim Albus, Australia Graham Marsh

Results in major championships

Tournament 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
U.S. Open
The Open Championship WD T28 T21 CUT T52 T30
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T51 T19 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship

Note: Hobday never played in the Masters Tournament or PGA Championship.
     Did not play WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1977 and 1984 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

  • Eisenhower Trophy (representing Zambia): 1966

Professional

  • Double Diamond International (representing the Rest of the World): 1976, 1977

See also

  • List of African golfers
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