Hugh Baiocchi

Hugh Baiocchi
Hugh Baiocchi
Personal information
Full name	Hugh John Baiocchi
Born	17 August 1946 (age 77); Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality	South Africa
Residence	Palm Springs, California
Spouse	Patricia Joan (m. 1971)
Children	2
Career
College	University of Witwaterstrand
Turned professional	1971
Former tour(s)	European Tour; Southern Africa Tour; Champions Tour
Professional wins	24
Highest ranking	54 (14 June 1987)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	6
Sunshine Tour	11
PGA Tour Champions	3
Other	4
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	T22: 1975
PGA Championship	DNP
U.S. Open	WD: 1979
The Open Championship	T9: 1984
Achievements and awards
Southern Africa Tour; Order of Merit winner
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 edit

Baiocchi was born in Johannesburg.

Professional career edit

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 edit

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 edit

1968 Brazil Amateur Open Championship
1970 South African Amateur^[3]

Professional wins (24) edit

European Tour wins (6) edit

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	Jack Newton, Eddie Polland
2	10 Aug 1975	Dutch Open	−9 (71-72-69-67=279)	2 strokes	Dale Hayes, Simon Hobday
3	18 Jul 1976	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	−17 (68-65-70-68=271)	2 strokes	Eamonn Darcy
4	21 May 1977	Sun Alliance Match Play Championship	6 and 5		Brian Huggett
5	2 Sep 1979	Swiss Open (2)	−5 (68-67-73-67=275)	5 strokes	Antonio Garrido, Dale Hayes, Delio Lovato
6	9 Jul 1983	State Express Classic	−9 (70-68-70-71=279)	Playoff	Eamonn Darcy, Mike Sullivan

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

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

Southern Africa Tour wins (11) edit

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	John O'Leary
2	10 Feb 1973	General Motors International Classic	−14 (68-70-74-70=282)	Playoff	Dale Hayes
3	22 Dec 1973	ICL Transvaal Open	−12 (68-67-71-70=276)	1 stroke	Dale Hayes
4	4 Dec 1976	Holiday Inns Invitational	−15 (69-65-70-69=273)	Playoff	Dale Hayes
5	11 Dec 1976	ICL International (2)	−12 (68-66-69-65=268)	1 stroke	Tienie Britz, Gary Player
6	19 Dec 1976	Rhodesian Dunlop Masters	−14 (67-72-66-69=274)	2 strokes	Andries Oosthuizen
7	9 Dec 1978	Yellow Pages South African Open	−3 (71-69-74-71=285)	1 stroke	Gavan Levenson
8	16 Nov 1980	Zimbabwe Open	−9 (67-70-70-72=279)	Playoff	Allan Henning, Denis Watson
9	22 Nov 1980	Lexington PGA Championship	−12 (65-68-68-67=268)	1 stroke	Mark McNulty, Gary Player
10	31 Jan 1981	Vaal Reefs Open	−12 (70-69-68-69=276)	2 strokes	Tienie Britz
11	17 Dec 1989	Twee Jonge Gezellen Masters	−7 (69-68-74-70=281)	1 stroke	Tertius Claassens, Ernie Els, Rick Hartmann

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (3–5)

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

Other wins (4) edit

1980 BCA Tournament^[4]
1989 Murphy's Cup, SA Railfreight
2002 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Deane Pappas)

Senior PGA Tour wins (3) edit

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	31 Aug 1997	Pittsburgh Senior Classic	−10 (70-70-66=206)	Playoff	Bob Duval
2	13 Sep 1998	Comfort Classic	−20 (66-63-67=196)	2 strokes	Bruce Summerhays
3	20 Sep 1998	Kroger Senior Classic	−7 (67-66=133)*	Playoff	Bob Charles, Frank Conner, Larry Nelson, 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	Bruce Crampton	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2	1997	Saint Luke's Classic	Bruce Summerhays	Lost to par on second extra hole
3	1997	Pittsburgh Senior Classic	Bob Duval	Won with par on sixth extra hole
4	1998	Kroger Senior Classic	Bob Charles, Frank Conner, Larry Nelson, Bruce Summerhays	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships edit

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 edit

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

Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (four times)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Team appearances edit

Amateur

Commonwealth Tournament (representing South Africa): 1967
Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Africa): 1968, 1970

Professional

Double Diamond International (representing the Rest of the World): 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977 (captain)
World Cup (representing South Africa): 1973, 1977
Datsun International (representing South Africa): 1976 (winners)^[5]
Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 1982

References edit

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

External links edit

Hugh Baiocchi at the European Tour official site
Hugh Baiocchi at the PGA Tour official site
Hugh Baiocchi at the Sunshine Tour official site
Hugh Baiocchi at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

[w198724-1] "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.

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