U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 2, 1994

Simon Hobday

SIMON HOBDAY: It is a long story. It is a long story. I got up at 5 o'clock in the morning, I wasn't well. But I managed to scramble a par. I tried to get back to the house after the one hole that I played and go to sleep and I couldn't go to sleep. Then I came out on the course and I warmed up for the second time. Then, I went back and they told me to go back to the locker room because it was going to rain. After an hour or so I went out and warmed up again. Then as I got to the tee, they said go back to the locker room; it is going to rain again. So, I went out and warmed up again. I haven't hit that many practice balls when I am working. But it didn't affect the game today, thank God. We played nicely.

SIMON HOBDAY: I slept all right last night, but it was only for four hours or five hours, or something. That isn't enough for me; I don't think.

SIMON HOBDAY: I birdied the par 5. I holed-- I hit a drive and a 3-iron and a sand wedge to about 15 feet and holed that. Then I made two at -- what is that -- 6. I hit a 3-iron to about 5 feet and holed that. And then at 6, I hit it to about -- 7 I hit it to about 2 foot.

SIMON HOBDAY: 6-iron. Driver and a 6-iron.

SIMON HOBDAY: 166 paces to the pin. And then on the 13th I hit it to about four feet and holed that.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, a lot of things have happened to me on, mostly, Friday the 13th. I have had four car accidents on Friday the 13th. I was deported from a country on Friday the 13th. I got my deportation papers -- actually I was out of the country when they signed them and they were on Friday the 13th, as well. So, Friday the 13th --.

SIMON HOBDAY: Zambia. Friday the 13th, I stay indoors most of the time.

SIMON HOBDAY: They wouldn't tell me. They just told me you got 48 hours to get the hell out of here. But it didn't matter, I have been thrown out of better places than that.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, I was just joking.

SIMON HOBDAY: Jim Albus isn't going away, is he? He is sticking like glue. God, I wish -- I hope he is late for his bloody starting time tomorrow.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, I was just trying not to take any notice of what they were doing. Just getting on with my own game, really. Hell, if you start work about Nicklaus and Floyd and Weiskopf and all those other guys, hell, you will have a nervous breakdown on the second.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, never.

SIMON HOBDAY: No.

SIMON HOBDAY: Yes, but at least that puts you off at 8:30 or something -- or whatever -- you finish at 9 o'clock. I mean, I have not even done that yet.

SIMON HOBDAY: Well, I tell you what, I was very pleased to hear that whistle go off on the 13th and so I can maybe go and get some kiper and come out stronger tomorrow.

SIMON HOBDAY: No. I am still not good at about eight.

SIMON HOBDAY: It was like I said couple of days ago, it is that thing that it clicks in. I can't describe it. But, I have been playing so bad and I have been looking all over the swing to find the thing that will just hit it on the green, never mind hit it close. And last week, it was there. I found a way of finishing the backswing and again going -- I have got an extra two seconds almost to hit the ball, compared to what I had at about ten days ago. And it is so new that it is easy to concentrate on it. But, I am still not dead confident with every iron that I stand over. Unless the yardage is dead spot on. If I got 138 to the pin and I got a 9 -- 9-iron, well then it is-- I can't hit soft shots yet, or I can blast them, but I can't hit the little soft shots over the traps yet. I am not confident enough to do that.

SIMON HOBDAY: Well, I feel I am putting better than I know how. But I am not -- I don't actually even want to talk about it, because it might go away.

SIMON HOBDAY: Well, on these greens, when you roll off the side, and you actually got grain looking at you, it is a terribly difficult thing to hit with a putter the grass grabs it straight-a-way. With the 4-wood it just gets out of its lie and on top of the grass; it is-- I am amazed other people aren't using that shot. It is a hell of a lot easy than handling it with a putter too, but don't put that in the press tomorrow; they will all be doing it.

SIMON HOBDAY: Actually yes. I wasn't the first round or end of the -- since the back 9 of the first day, I have been in a zone. Yeah, I do. Good question.

SIMON HOBDAY: Hell, I don't even want to think about winning the U.S. Open yet. I haven't even thought about it and I don't want to. So I will answer that question if it happens.

SIMON HOBDAY: In the old days, ever hear of a chap called Mark McNulty and Dennis Watson and Nick Price were all youngsters when I was playing; they used to come and say you know, Mr. Hobday, can we sit here in the back here and watch you practice. I'd say, fine, as long as you keep quiet. Nowadays, if I play in a tournament when they are there they say, what are you doing here you old fart. You know, things change and I used to be his hero and now he is my hero.

SIMON HOBDAY: Place called Warren Hills (Phonetic) in Zimbabwe.

SIMON HOBDAY: Yes, I did, but I chickened out because I didn't have a lot of money and it would have cost me all my bucks to come here and try and get a card and I figured if I did get the card; then I would have to make the cuts and everyone is shooting 142 around these golf courses; then I figured if I'd made the cut, then I would have to start beating Weiskopf, And Watson and Player.

SIMON HOBDAY: About 33 or 34 I was thinking about coming over here.

SIMON HOBDAY: Now that I think about it, I should have done it. I should have come over; much better place to play.

SIMON HOBDAY: The same as I do here. I played in Europe and -- for 16 years, so it is the same as it is here, but it is just that we play in the wind and the rain and you had warm beer and cold pies. They go different over there in SCotland. I was playing as a pro. I was playing as a pro, yeah.

SIMON HOBDAY: It was way back when I was very poor in the South AFrican circuit, one tournament my one shoe broke and I had to borrow a shoe from one of my pals and it happened to be brown and my other shoe was black and then the PGA said, well, you can't go around scruffy like that. I said that is the only shoes I got. So we played the tournament like that, but the name scruffy stuck with the one black shoe and one brown shoe.

SIMON HOBDAY: Well, in those days we actually really we didn't play for a lot of money. So to give you an example, my best year I think I finished 9th there; one year I made 21 or 22 thousand pounds or something which in those days would have been $50,000 for the whole year.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, that was actually -- you survived on that in those days. But you could get snot flying drunk on 10 Bob (Phonetic). Nowadays 10 Bob, you have two Miller Lites and you are looking around for change.

SIMON HOBDAY: That is after I quit in Europe. I quit playing Europe. I think it was 82 and then I hung it back for a year just playing the South African circuit; then this opportunity came up and we went into the car alarm business. It grew and grew and grew. It became quite big. We were turning over something like 500,000 Rand a month, so we were going-- it was a good business.

SIMON HOBDAY: I just had that job and played the South African when it arrived I played that because I was going for 50 at that stage of the game and I had to keep my hand in somehow.

SIMON HOBDAY: I think if I went through them, it is under 10, but I think it would be about 8 or 9 altogether. I think 8.

SIMON HOBDAY: South Africa Open I won in 1971 and then I also won a German Open, it was in 76, and then I won Rhodesian Open in 76 and 77 two in a row. Then there was another Open.

SIMON HOBDAY: Yes, you don't read the press, do you? Well, I went fishing after the first round.

SIMON HOBDAY: I had to take a pee while we were fishing, so I hung it over the side of the boat, and while I was doing that, my mate at the back of the boat moved and I tippled over the back of the boat into the water. That is all right; isn't it? It happens. It happens.

SIMON HOBDAY: No, they didn't.

SIMON HOBDAY: The thing was -- the boat filled up with water. I was swimming next to it trying to push it to the bank and after swimming for about half a minute, I look at my pal next door; he was standing up in 3 foot of water and I was swimming and it was over 3 foot of water. I tell you there were a lot of snakes in that lake too. When I came around, you start thinking, there's buggers as thick as your arms in there. You got that boat on the bank bloody quick after that.

SIMON HOBDAY: Lake just down -- the fellow that owns the Magnolia Inn, Ned Dobby (Phonetic) got a place on the lake and he took us out. He said here is a boat and some rods and go and fish.

SIMON HOBDAY: Yes, a player and Harold Henning, when they were back in South Africa five, six years ago they said, listen, all you got to do is get your card and you will be all right. That is the toughest part, is getting the card after that you will be okay. I came and tried to get the card and got it. Been here ever since.