Hugh Baiocchi
Personal information
Full nameHugh John Baiocchi
Born (1946-08-17) 17 August 1946 (age 77)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality South Africa
ResidencePalm Springs, California
Spouse
Patricia Joan
​
(m. 1971)​
Children2
Career
CollegeUniversity of Witwaterstrand
Turned professional1971
Former tour(s)European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins24
Highest ranking54 (14 June 1987)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour6
Sunshine Tour11
PGA Tour Champions3
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT22: 1975
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenWD: 1979
The Open ChampionshipT9: 1984
Achievements and awards
Southern Africa Tour
Order of Merit winner		1978–79

Hugh John Baiocchi (born 17 August 1946) is a South African professional golfer who has won more than 20 professional tournaments around the world.

Early life

Baiocchi was born in Johannesburg.

Professional career

In 1971, Baiocchi turned professional and spent his regular career playing mainly in Europe. He was a member of the European Tour from its first season in 1972 until 1993 and made the top one hundred on the Order of Merit for the Tour's first nineteen seasons, including three top ten placings: 1973 (3rd); 1975 (6th) and 1977 (2nd). He won six official money events on the tour. He also competed regularly on the Southern Africa Tour during the Northern Hemisphere winter, winning several tournaments there and winning the Order of Merit in 1978/79.

As a senior (over 50) golfer, Baiocchi played mainly on the U.S.-based Champions Tour, where he has three wins.

He also designed many golf courses such as the Legend Course at the Constance Belle Mare Plage Resort in Mauritius, venue of the 2011 MCB Tour Championship.

Personal life

Baiocchi is married to Joan. He has two children. He currently lives in Tequesta, Florida. His daughter, Lauren, was married to well-known retired baseball player Johnny Bench.[2]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (24)

European Tour wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 29 Jul 1973 Swiss Open −2 (68-70-69-71=278) 1 stroke Australia Jack Newton, Northern Ireland Eddie Polland
2 10 Aug 1975 Dutch Open −9 (71-72-69-67=279) 2 strokes South Africa Dale Hayes, South Africa Simon Hobday
3 18 Jul 1976 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −17 (68-65-70-68=271) 2 strokes Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy
4 21 May 1977 Sun Alliance Match Play Championship 6 and 5 Wales Brian Huggett
5 2 Sep 1979 Swiss Open (2) −5 (68-67-73-67=275) 5 strokes Spain Antonio Garrido, South Africa Dale Hayes,
Italy Delio Lovato
6 9 Jul 1983 State Express Classic −9 (70-68-70-71=279) Playoff Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy, United States Mike Sullivan

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1983 State Express Classic Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy, United States Mike Sullivan Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1986 Benson & Hedges International Open England Mark James, United States Lee Trevino James won with birdie on first extra hole

Southern Africa Tour wins (11)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 13 Jan 1973 NCR Western Province Open E (76-70-74-72=292) 1 stroke Republic of Ireland John O'Leary
2 10 Feb 1973 General Motors International Classic −14 (68-70-74-70=282) Playoff South Africa Dale Hayes
3 22 Dec 1973 ICL Transvaal Open −12 (68-67-71-70=276) 1 stroke South Africa Dale Hayes
4 4 Dec 1976 Holiday Inns Invitational −15 (69-65-70-69=273) Playoff South Africa Dale Hayes
5 11 Dec 1976 ICL Transvaal International −12 (68-66-69-65=268) 1 stroke South Africa Tienie Britz, South Africa Gary Player
6 19 Dec 1976 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters −14 (67-72-66-69=274) South Africa Andries Oosthuizen
7 9 Dec 1978 Yellow Pages South African Open −3 (71-69-74-71=285) 1 stroke South Africa Gavan Levenson
8 16 Nov 1980 Zimbabwe Open −9 (67-70-70-72=279) Playoff South Africa Allan Henning, Zimbabwe Denis Watson
9 22 Nov 1980 Lexington PGA Championship −12 (65-68-68-67=268) 1 stroke Zimbabwe Mark McNulty, South Africa Gary Player
10 31 Jan 1981 Vaal Reefs Open −12 (70-69-68-69=276) 2 strokes South Africa Tienie Britz
11 17 Dec 1989 Twee Jonge Gezellen Masters −7 (69-68-74-70=281) 1 stroke South Africa Tertius Claassens, South Africa Ernie Els,
United States Rick Hartmann

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (3–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1972 Glen Anil Classic England Peter Oosterhuis Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1973 General Motors International Classic South Africa Dale Hayes Won with par on second extra hole
3 1976 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters South Africa Allan Henning Lost to par on third extra hole
4 1976 Holiday Inns Invitational South Africa Dale Hayes Won with par on fourth extra hole
5 1978 ICL International South Africa Dale Hayes Lost to par on third extra hole
6 1980 Zimbabwe Open South Africa Allan Henning, Zimbabwe Denis Watson Won with birdie on first extra hole
7 1985 Palabora Classic Zimbabwe Mark McNulty Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole
8 1995 Phalaborwa Mafunyane Trophy South Africa Roger Wessels

Other wins (4)

Senior PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 31 Aug 1997 Pittsburgh Senior Classic −10 (70-70-66=206) Playoff United States Bob Duval
2 13 Sep 1998 Comfort Classic −20 (66-63-67=196) 2 strokes United States Bruce Summerhays
3 20 Sep 1998 Kroger Senior Classic −7 (67-66=133)* Playoff New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Frank Conner,
United States Larry Nelson, United States Bruce Summerhays

*Note: The 1998 Korger Senior Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1997 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic Australia Bruce Crampton Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 1997 Saint Luke's Classic United States Bruce Summerhays Lost to par on second extra hole
3 1997 Pittsburgh Senior Classic United States Bob Duval Won with par on sixth extra hole
4 1998 Kroger Senior Classic New Zealand Bob Charles, United States Frank Conner,
United States Larry Nelson, United States Bruce Summerhays 		Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Masters Tournament T31 T22 CUT
U.S. Open WD
The Open Championship CUT T18 CUT T23 CUT CUT CUT T41 T29 CUT CUT CUT T9 T35 CUT T66 CUT

Note: Baiocchi never played in the PGA Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983 Open Championships)
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 17 7
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 0 0 0 0 1 4 21 9

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. ^ "Week 24 1987 Ending 14 Jun 1987" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ Wertheim, Jon (2 July 2018). "Johnny Bench Is Already a Hall-of-Famer, But He's Looking For a New Distinction". Sports Illustrated.
  3. ^ "Sanlam South African Amateur Championship" (PDF). Golf South Africa.
  4. ^ "Baiocchi's eagle pips Gallacher". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 22 March 1980. p. 19. Retrieved 28 September 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

External links

Categories