FORMER US Senior Open champion Simon Hobday will make a welcome return to the local golf scene when he tees it up in the Cullinan Senior Championship at the Cullinan Country Club on Thursday. Although Hobday should start favourite for the 54-hole Vodacom Senior Tour event he will face serious competition from a trio of other Senior Open champions. Both Bobby Vervey and John Fourie are previous winners of the British Senior Open and Allan Henning, youngest of the four Henning brothers, is a former SA Senior Open Champion. Also likely to challenge for the title are current Order of Merit leader Gabriel Putsoe, former French Open champion Vincent Tshabalala and the only member of royalty on any golf tour, Swaziland’s genial Prince Joe Dlamini. Two big hitters who will have their sights on the top spot are Tertius Claassens, currently third on the Order of Merit , and Richard Lyon, who finished second behind Allan Henning in the Cadillac Senior Classic at Glendower earlier this month.