Simon Hobday
Personal information
Full nameSimon Forbes Newbold Hobday
NicknameScruffy[1]
Born(1940-06-23)23 June 1940
Mafikeng, South Africa
Died2 March 2017(2017-03-02) (aged 76)
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality Zambia (until 1969)
 Rhodesia (1969–1977)
 South Africa (1977–2017)
Career
Turned professional1969
Former tour(s)European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins17
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Sunshine Tour5
PGA Tour Champions5
Other5
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 1995
The Open ChampionshipT19: 1983

Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday (23 June 1940 – 2 March 2017)[2][3] was a South African professional golfer who won tournaments on three continents.

Early life

Hobday was born in the British Embassy in Mafikeng, South Africa.[4] Both of his parents were from England.[4]

Amateur career

Hobday lived part of his life in Zambia and represented the country in the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy.[5] In early 1969, he was still an amateur golfer and still represented Zambia. At the time, he worked as a car salesman in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.[6]

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.[6]

Professional career

In 1969, Hobday turned professional. 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.

In 1977, the British government froze his earnings on the British PGA because London had "political and sporting sanctions with Rhodesia." As a response, Hobday changed his sporting nationality from Rhodesia to South Africa.[7] In 1981, he "quit the European tour."[8] That year, he also moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa.[9] He began work at Wingate Park Club in Pretoria, South Africa.[8]

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.

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

Southern Africa Tour wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 4 Nov 1978 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters −16 (68-69-69-66=272) 4 strokes Rhodesia Tony Johnstone (a)
2 11 Nov 1978 Victoria Falls Classic −5 (74-73-73-69=287) 1 stroke South Africa Phil Simmons
3 11 Nov 1979 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open −13 (69-71-65-70=275 Playoff Zimbabwe Rhodesia Denis Watson
4 28 Nov 1981 ICL International −16 (68-64-70-70=272) 7 strokes South Africa John Bland
5 2 Mar 1985 Trustbank Tournament of Champions −10 (68-70-68-72=278) 2 strokes United States Jack Ferenz

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1979 Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open Zimbabwe Rhodesia Denis Watson Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Tour Championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (3)
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.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1994 GTE Northwest Classic United States Jim Albus Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (4)

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 the 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

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1994U.S. Senior Open−10 (66-67-66-75=274)1 strokeUnited States Jim Albus, Australia Graham Marsh

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ Green Sr., Ron (25 July 2011). "'Scruffy' Hobday went with the flow, pleasing fans, sportswriters". News Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Simon Hobday". Who's Who South Africa. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Simon Hobday, former US Senior Open champion, passes away aged 76". Sky Sports. 2 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The Guardian 23 Jun 1977, page 21". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "World Amateur Team Championship Record Books – Eisenhower Trophy – Championship Results – 1966". Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Bembridge Keeps Kenya Open Golf Title". The Canberra Times. 15 April 1969. p. 23. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Guardian 23 Jun 1977, page 21". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 "The Daily Telegraph 27 Nov 1981, page 30". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Daily Telegraph 28 Nov 1981, page 30". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
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