Simon Hobday

Simon Hobday
Simon Hobday
Personal information
Full name	Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday
Nickname	Scruffy
Born	23 June 1940; Mafikeng, South Africa
Died	2 March 2017 (aged 76)
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality	Zambia (until 1969); Rhodesia (1969–1977); South Africa (1977–2017)
Career
Turned professional	1969
Former tour(s)	European Tour; Southern Africa Tour; Champions Tour
Professional wins	17
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	2
Sunshine Tour	5
PGA Tour Champions	5
Other	5
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT: 1995
The Open Championship	T19: 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	Antonio Garrido
2	29 Apr 1979	Madrid Open	−3 (67-73-71-74=285)	2 strokes	Francisco Abreu, Gordon J. Brand, 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	Tony Johnstone (a)
2	11 Nov 1978	Victoria Falls Classic	−5 (74-73-73-69=287)	1 stroke	Phil Simmons
3	11 Nov 1979	Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open	−13 (69-71-65-70=275	Playoff	Denis Watson
4	28 Nov 1981	ICL International	−16 (68-64-70-70=272)	7 strokes	John Bland
5	2 Mar 1985	Trustbank Tournament of Champions	−10 (68-70-68-72=278)	2 strokes	Jack Ferenz

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1979	Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Open	Denis Watson	Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (1)

1971 South African Open

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	Gibby Gilbert, Mike Hill, Bob Reith
2	12 Dec 1993	Hyatt Senior Tour Championship	−17 (64-68-67=199)	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd, Larry Gilbert
3	3 Jul 1994	U.S. Senior Open	−10 (66-67-66-75=274)	1 stroke	Jim Albus, Graham Marsh
4	4 Sep 1994	GTE Northwest Classic	−7 (70-69-70=209)	Playoff	Jim Albus
5	17 Sep 1995	Brickyard Crossing Championship	−12 (71-65-68=204)	1 stroke	Isao Aoki, Hale Irwin, Bob Murphy, Lee Trevino

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1994	GTE Northwest Classic	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)

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)

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

Team appearances

Amateur

Eisenhower Trophy (representing Zambia): 1966

Professional

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

References

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

External links

Simon Hobday at the Sunshine Tour official site
Simon Hobday at the European Tour official site
Simon Hobday at the PGA Tour official site

[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.

[:2-4] "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.

[:0-6] "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.

[:1-8] "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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]