2016–17 Sunshine Tour
| Duration | 7 January 2016 – 5 March 2017 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 31 |
| Most wins | Jaco Ahlers (3) |
| Order of Merit | Brandon Stone |
| Rookie of the Year | Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
← 2015 2017–18 → | |
The 2016–17 Sunshine Tour was the 46th season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2016–17 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan | BMW SA Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 | Brandon Stone (2) | 32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 17 Jan | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 16,500,000 | Haydn Porteous (1) | 19 | EUR | |
| 14 Feb | Tshwane Open | Gauteng | 18,500,000 | Charl Schwartzel (9) | 19 | EUR | |
| 21 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 5,000,000 | George Coetzee (8) | 14 | Pro-Am | |
| 28 Feb | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Gauteng | 1,200,000 | Jaco van Zyl (14) | 14 | ||
| 12 Mar | Investec Cup | North West | 10,000,000 | Haydn Porteous (2) | n/a | ||
| 17 Apr | Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 1,800,000 | Lyle Rowe (2) | 14 | ||
| 24 Apr | Zambia Sugar Open | Zambia | 1,500,000 | Christofer Blomstrand (1) | 14 | ||
| 7 May | Investec Royal Swazi Open | Swaziland | 1,400,000 | Titch Moore (10) | 14 | ||
| 15 May | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 | Wang Jeung-hun (n/a) | 17 | ASA, EUR | |
| 22 May | Lombard Insurance Classic | Swaziland | 1,200,000 | Merrick Bremner (5) | 4 | ||
| 5 Jun | KCM Zambia Open | Zambia | 2,000,000 | Jaco Ahlers (4) | 14 | ||
| 30 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Wild Coast Sun | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Madalitso Muthiya (1) | 4 | ||
| 6 Aug | Sun City Challenge | North West | 700,000 | Oliver Bekker (4) | 7 | ||
| 20 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella | Western Cape | 700,000 | Vaughn Groenewald (5) | 4 | ||
| 26 Aug | Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Jaco Ahlers (5) | 4 | ||
| 10 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen | Northern Cape | 700,000 | Jacques Blaauw (4) | 4 | ||
| 23 Sep | Sun Carnival City Challenge | Gauteng | 700,000 | Ruan de Smidt (3) | 4 | New tournament | |
| 1 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Simola | Western Cape | 700,000 | Justin Harding (5) | 4 | ||
| 8 Oct | Sun Boardwalk Challenge | Eastern Cape | 700,000 | Ruan de Smidt (4) | 4 | ||
| 14 Oct | Sun Fish River Challenge | Eastern Cape | 700,000 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1) | 4 | ||
| 22 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Euphoria | Gauteng | 700,000 | Jaco Ahlers (6) | 7 | ||
| 28 Oct | Sun Sibaya Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Peter Karmis (3) | 7 | ||
| 5 Nov | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Eastern Cape | 700,000 | Mark Williams (1) | 4 | ||
| 27 Nov | Lion of Africa Cape Town Open | Western Cape | 1,500,000 | Jacques Kruyswijk (1) | 14 | ||
| 4 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,200,000 | Brandon Stone (3) | 32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 15 Jan | BMW SA Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 | Graeme Storm (n/a) | 26 | EUR | |
| 12 Feb | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Erik van Rooyen (1) | 14 | ||
| 19 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 5,050,000 | Paul Lawrie (n/a) | 14 | ||
| 26 Feb | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 16,500,000 | Darren Fichardt (15) | 19 | EUR | |
| 5 Mar | Tshwane Open | Gauteng | 18,500,000 | Dean Burmester (7) | 19 | EUR |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[2][3]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Stone | 7,384,889 |
| 2 | Dean Burmester | 5,955,793 |
| 3 | Darren Fichardt | 3,303,541 |
| 4 | Haydn Porteous | 3,277,711 |
| 5 | Zander Lombard | 3,021,640 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | [4][5] |
See also
Notes
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Sunshine Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.
- ^ ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
References
- ^ "2016/17 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "2016/17 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ "Stone wins Sunshine Tour order of merit". Reuters. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "2016/17 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ "Christiaan Bezuidenhout". ISPS Handa. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
He was 'Rookie of the Year' on the Sunshine Tour in 2017...