Bobby Cole (golfer)

Robert Eric Cole (born 11 May 1948) is a South African professional golfer.

For other people with the same name, see Bob Cole (disambiguation).

Bobby Cole
Personal information
Full nameRobert Eric Cole
Born (1948-05-11) 11 May 1948
Springs, South Africa
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality South Africa
ResidenceWindermere, Florida, U.S.
SpouseLinda Parker
Children7, including Eric
Career
Turned professional1967
Former tour(s)South African Tour
PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Sunshine Tour7
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT15: 1975
PGA ChampionshipT3: 1974
U.S. OpenT13: 1971
The Open ChampionshipT3: 1975

Early life

Cole was born in Springs, South Africa. As a child, he was influenced by the careers of Bobby Locke and Gary Player.

After suffering a bicycle accident related knee injury, Cole took up golf at the age of eleven. He won both the South Africa junior golf championship and the Vaal Amateur.[1]

Amateur career

In 1966, Cole won the British Amateur at Carnoustie, Scotland, at age 18, the youngest winner to that stage. Cole held the record as youngest-ever winner of the tournament until Matteo Manassero won the event in 2009, at age 16. Cole also held the record as the youngest player to play in and make the cut at the Masters Tournament, in 1967, at just short of 19 of age, until Manassero, in 2010, again beat his record.

Professional career

In the fall of 1967, Cole tried out for the PGA Tour at 1967 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He earned medalist honors.[2] In 1974, he claimed both the team and the individual wins in the World Cup. Cole is a two-time winner of the South African Open in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he won the South African PGA Championship.

On the PGA Tour, Cole won the 1977 Buick Open. He has had nine top-25 finishes in the major championships including a tie for third in the 1975 Open Championship, one stroke out of a playoff. During the event, Cole shot back-to-back rounds of 66, setting and then matching the course record at Carnoustie.

Cole played on the Champions Tour from 1998 to 2001.

Personal life

Cole is married to author Linda Parker. He resides in Windermere, Florida where he teaches private lessons, corporate retreats, and plays ProAms and other golf events.

On 12 December 1980, Cole married American professional golfer Laura Baugh in Cape Town, South Africa.[3] The couple divorced, re-married, and then divorced again. They had seven children together, including professional golfer Eric Cole.[4][5][6]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (14)

PGA Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 4 Sep 1977 Buick Open −17 (67-69-68-67=271) 1 stroke United States Fred Marti

Southern Africa Tour wins (7)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 8 Jan 1972 ICL Transvaal Open −14 (65-67-68-70=270) Playoff South Africa Tienie Britz
2 10 Dec 1972 Natal Open −11 (71-68-72-66=277) 1 stroke South Africa Dale Hayes
3 17 Dec 1972 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters −20 (66-68-63-71=268) 4 strokes South Africa Cobie Legrange
4 19 Jan 1974 Vavasseur Natal Open (2) −4 (74-72-69-69=284) 1 stroke South Africa Tienie Britz
5 2 Feb 1974 South African Open −16 (70-65-73-64=272) 4 strokes South Africa Allan Henning
6 6 Dec 1980 Datsun South African Open (2) −9 (73-63-70-73=279) 4 strokes Zimbabwe Nick Price
7 26 Jan 1986 Lexington PGA Championship −15 (66-65-66-68=265) 5 strokes South Africa David Frost, Zimbabwe Teddy Webber

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1972 ICL Transvaal Open South Africa Tienie Britz Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1974 Dunlop South African Masters South Africa Gary Player Lost to par on second extra hole

Tournament Player Series wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 4 Aug 1985 Seattle-Everett Open −12 (70-65-66=201) 1 stroke United States Dave Stockton

Other South African wins (3)

Other wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 24 Nov 1974 World Cup
(with South Africa Dale Hayes)		 −6 (137-138-139-140=554) 5 strokes  Japan − Isao Aoki and Masashi Ozaki
2 24 Nov 1974 World Cup Individual Trophy −9 (66-70-67-68=271) 5 strokes Japan Masashi Ozaki

Results in major championships
Tournament 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament T44
U.S. Open CUT T31
The Open Championship T30 CUT T13 CUT
PGA Championship T21
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT T15 47 28
U.S. Open T12 T13 T47 CUT
The Open Championship T28 T7 T3 T32 T15
PGA Championship T3 T40 T54
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T43

[9][10]

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000154
U.S. Open00000274
The Open Championship00112497
PGA Championship00111255
Totals0022392620
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1974 Open Championship – 1978 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1974 Open Championship – 1974 PGA)

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. "Cole falls of bicycle, ends up on golf course". Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. Booe, Billy (23 August 1968). "School Screens Pro Hopefuls; Must Pass Tough 144-Hole Test". The Hartford Courant. p. 44. Retrieved 22 June 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Newsmakers". The Lima News. Ohio. 14 December 1980. p. E13. Retrieved 14 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Storylines: Exuma welcomes Tour to kick off 2017 season". PGA Tour. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017.
  5. Steptoe, Sonja (20 May 1991). "All Smiles Again". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. Heil, Jarrod (8 February 2017). "Storylines: Cole follows in parents' footsteps as pro golfer". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  7. "Cole wins Masters Tourney". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1969. p. 15.
  8. "Hitchcock sixth in Natal Open". The Glasgow Herald. 2 February 1970. p. 5.
  9. "Golf Major Championships - Bobby Cole". www.golfmajorchampionships.com. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  10. Loomis, Tom (10 April 1978). "Champ Player Fired 64, Then 'Choked'". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. pp. 14, 16. Retrieved 9 December 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
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