Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday (23 June 1940 – 2 March 2017) was a South African professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er who won tournaments on three continents.

Amateur career

Hobday was born in

Mafikeng Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

. He lived part of his life in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and represented the country in the

1966 Eisenhower Trophy The 1966 Eisenhower Trophy took place October 27 to 30 at the Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the fifth World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with 32 four-m ...

. 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 Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, the capital of Zambia. In April 1969, while still an amateur, Hobday played the

Kenya Open The Kenya Open, titled as the Magical Kenya Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament in Kenya founded in 1967. History The Kenya Open was an associate event on the Far East Circuit in 1967 and 1968, after which it became a ...

. 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 Bernard Gallacher, OBE (born 9 February 1949) is a Scottish professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Gallacher was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Association Boys C ...

, five behind champion

Maurice Bembridge Maurice Bembridge (born 21 February 1945) is an English golfer. He won the 1969 News of the World Match Play, the 1971 Dunlop Masters and won six times on the European Tour from its formation in 1972. He also won tournaments around the world, i ...

. He defeated several notable professionals including

Christy O'Connor Snr Patrick Christopher "Christy" O'Connor (21 December 1924 – 14 May 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the British and Irish circuit from the mid-1950s. O'Connor won over 20 important British and Irish t ...

and Australia's Bob Tuohy.

Professional career

Hobday turned professional in 1969. He spent his regular career mainly on the

Southern Africa Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

, where he won six times and the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

, where he won the 1976 German Open and the 1979

Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open: * Madrid Open (golf) The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...

. As a senior, he played mainly in the United States on the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

(now Champions Tour), where he claimed five titles between 1993 and 1995 including one senior major, the 1994

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

. Hobday also lived in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

Professional wins (17)

European Tour wins (2)

Sunshine Tour wins (6)

*1971 South African Open *1978

Rhodesian Dunlop Masters The Rhodesian Dunlop Masters was a golf tournament that was held in Rhodesia. It was an event on the Southern Africa Tour until the late 1970s. History The tournament rotated round three host courses, Royal Salisbury Golf Club and Chapman G ...

*1978

Victoria Falls Classic The Victoria Falls Classic was a Rhodesian golf tournament held from 1976 to 1979. Starting in 1977 it was on the Southern African Tour. History The event was played at Elephant Hills Country Club at Victoria Falls, Rhodesia. The course was a ...

*1979 Rhodesian Open *1981

ICL International The ICL International was a golf tournament in South Africa as part of the South African Tour. International stars like Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Nick Price won the event. The tournament was initially played at Kensington Golf Club in Johann ...

*1985

Trustbank Tournament of Champions The Trustbank Tournament of Champions was a professional golf tournament that was held in South Africa between 1985 and 1992. It was played at Kensington Golf Club in Johannesburg and was a fixture on the South African Tour, being the season ending ...

Senior PGA Tour wins (5)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other senior wins (4)

*1997/98 Vodacom Senior Classic (South Africa) *2001 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Martin Maritz),

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

- Legendary Division (with

Jim Albus James Christian Albus (born June 18, 1940) is an American professional golfer. Albus was born in Staten Island, New York. He attended New Dorp High School, and went on to Bucknell University, where he was a successful baseball player. It was w ...

) *2003 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with

Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including ...

)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Hobday never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''
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 The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

(representing Zambia):

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Professional *

Double Diamond International The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland. From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pla ...

(representing the Rest of the World): 1976, 1977

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobday, Simon South African male golfers Sunshine Tour golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships People from Mahikeng 1940 births 2017 deaths