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
- 1968 Brazil Amateur Open Championship
- 1970 South African Amateur[3]
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 |  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)
| 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)
- 1980 BCA Tournament[4]
- 1989 Murphy's Cup, SA Railfreight
- 2002 Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Deane Pappas)
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 | 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
| 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.
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 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (four times)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
Team appearances
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
- ^ "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
- 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
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