Hobday heads new Seniors Tour

2008-09-03 17:06

Johannesburg - South African golf's new Seniors Tour tees off at Dainfern Country Club this week, where US Senior Open champion Simon Hobday heads the field in the inaugural Deloitte Spring Invitational.

The 36-hole tournament, which tees off on Thursday, is the first of ten tournaments on the country's new Seniors Tour, and features several of South African senior golf's biggest stars.

Hobday, Jeff Hawkes, John Mashego, Tertius Claassens, Solly Sepeng, Theo Manyama and Gabriel Putsoe are all in the field, and many have welcomed the return of seniors professional golf to South African fairways.

"I think it will be great if this tour really gets going because there's no doubt we've got some tremendous senior golfing talent in this country," said Hawkes, a five-time winner worldwide in his day including a victory over Seve Ballesteros in the 1991 European Masters on the European Tour.

"I honestly believe that seniors golf has a lot to offer and I'm really looking forward to it. I had shoulder surgery earlier this year but I've had a practice round at Dainfern and I think it looks spectacular," added Hawkes, who turned 55 this week.

Hawkes is playing his first tournament at Dainfern Country Club since "I handed Ernie Els the South African Masters there in 1992. The trees seem to have grown, while I've shrunk".

Biggest name in the field

Manyama is also fully supportive of the new Seniors Tour.

"It's tremendous to have seniors professional golf back in South Africa because it's something that has been missing from our golf for many years now," said Manyama, who also works as the chief rules official on the Sunshine Tour and officiates at all of the game's Majors.

"I think it has the potential to grow and soon we'll have more of our top seniors who are competing overseas, such as John Bland and Hugh Baiocchi, coming back to play on our Seniors Tour."

Hobday is arguably the biggest name in the field as the winner of the US Senior Open in 1994 as part of the five titles he claimed on the Champions Tour in the United States.

But European Seniors Tour campaigner Mashego comes into this tournament playing solid golf and with a finish of eighth in the recent Russian Seniors Open.

And Sepeng, a former caddie and petrol pump attendant, has fond memories of Dainfern. He beat an illustrious field including Hobday and Bland to win the 1998 Vodacom Senior Classic at Dainfern.

The format of the tournament will see the field of 82 players cut to the top 30 professionals after Thursday's first round. They will then contest Friday's final round.

- SAPA