The PGA of SA nominated Cobie Le Grange as he has been a member for 42 years. Cobie chose to turn professional before he turned 20, leaving behind a successful amateur career. It was not long, however, before he made good on his decision to join the paid ranks, winning the British Masters in 1964 at Royal Birkdale, before travelling all the way to Australia to capture that country’s Masters Tournament in the same year.

He followed his British Masters triumph with a repeat victory at the same tournament in 1969 at Little Astons Golf Club. That same year, he entered The Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes and opened with a disastrous 79, which left him floundering in 108th place out of a field of just 129. He fought back to make the cut though with a second-round 70 and then proceeded to continue his climb up the leaderboard with rounds of 71 and 69 to finish 11th. His aggregate for the last three rounds was the best of the field, but he still finished nine shots adrift of winner Tony Jacklin that year.

Bizarrely, with some 30 runner-up spots and 23 victories around the world and a career-high world ranking of 15th, he is reputed to have suffered a severe lack of confidence in his backswing soon after, often actually stepping away from the ball after he had taken club away from the ball. Naturally his game suffered and his results in the ‘70s never matched up to those of the ‘60s.

In 2001 he was awarded the coveted Contribution to Golf Award by the PGA, the year after he left Randpark Golf Club. In 2003 he started Cobie Le Grange Golf Course Design, which has seen him team up with Douw van der Merwe in re-designing Parys Golf Club on the Vaal River. He is also the design consultant at the The Lakes Eco Golf Reserve near Sedgefield in the Southern Cape.

As a PGA member, Cobie has always put the interests of his club and his members above all else, but has also always been ready to share his knowledge built up over years of experience with younger members of the PGA - a sure sign of a Master Professional which he was awarded to in October 2008

The PGA's of Europe 5 Star Professional Awards started in 1992 and he will be joining a very prestigious Roll of Honour. Cobie will be awarded at the Annual Dinner on Friday 13th November at La Serena Golf Club & Resort in Murcia, Spain.

We wish Cobie Le Grange the very best as he continues to be a