Duration | 5 March 2021 | – 1 May 2022
---|---|
Number of official events | 30[a] |
Most wins | J. C. Ritchie (3) |
Order of Merit | Shaun Norris |
Rookie of the Year | Jayden Schaper |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → |
The 2021–22 Sunshine Tour was the 51st season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
In January 2021, the schedule was again disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as several tournaments scheduled for early in the year were postponed by a month or more, with the season restarting in March. Among the tournaments affected were three co-sanctioned events with the Challenge Tour.[1]
The season marked the start of a partnership between the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour. As part of the agreement, the top three players on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit (not otherwise exempt) gained status to play on the European Tour for the following season.[2]
The following table lists official events during the 2021–22 season.[3]
Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 Mar[d] |
Kit Kat Group Pro-Am | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Rhys Enoch (2) | 8 | New Pro-Am tournament | |
14 Mar | Players Championship | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Jaco Prinsloo (4) | 14 | New tournament | |
21 Mar | Gauteng Championship | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Jbe' Kruger (5) | 14 | New tournament | |
28 Mar | Serengeti Pro-Am Invitational | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Jaco Prinsloo (5) | 14 | New Pro-Am tournament | |
The Tour Championship | Gauteng | – | Removed[e] | – | Tour Championship | ||
Zanaco Masters | Zambia | – | Removed[e] | – | |||
25 Apr[d] |
Limpopo Championship | Limpopo | 3,000,000 | Brandon Stone (4) | 13 | CHA | |
2 May[d] |
Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Western Cape | 3,000,000 | J. C. Ritchie (8) | 13 | CHA | |
9 May[d] |
Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 6,000,000 | Wilco Nienaber (1) | 13 | CHA | Pro-Am |
4 Jun | SunBet Challenge (Sun City) | North West | 1,000,000 | Alex Haindl (3) | 7 | New tournament series | |
6 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze | Western Cape | 1,000,000 | George Coetzee (12) | 7 | ||
FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge | Eswatini | – | Removed[e] | – | New tournament | ||
20 Aug | SunBet Challenge (Time Square Casino) | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Estiaan Conradie (1) | 4 | ||
28 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Alex Haindl (4) | 4 | ||
King's Cup | Eswatini | – | Removed[e] | – | |||
10 Sep | Sunshine Tour Invitational | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Jacques Kruyswijk (2) | 4 | New tournament | |
Zanaco Masters | Zambia | – | Removed[e] | – | |||
18 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Mount Edgecombe | KwaZulu-Natal | 1,000,000 | Louis Albertse (1) | 4 | ||
Karen Masters | Kenya | – | Removed[e] | – | |||
2 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Humewood | Eastern Cape | 1,000,000 | Daniel Greene (1) | 4 | ||
SunBet Challenge (Wild Coast Sun) | KwaZulu-Natal | – | Cancelled[f] | – | |||
16 Oct | Blue Label Challenge | North West | 1,500,000 | Lyle Rowe (3) | 14 | New tournament | |
24 Oct | Blair Atholl Championship | Gauteng | 1,250,000 | Luke Brown (1) | 14 | New tournament | |
7 Nov | PGA Championship | Eastern Cape | 1,200,000 | Dean Burmester (8) | 14 | ||
Nedbank Golf Challenge | North West | – | Cancelled[5] | – | EUR | ||
27 Nov | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 17,500,000 | Thriston Lawrence (2) | 19 | EUR | |
5 Dec | SA Open Championship | North West | US$500,000[g] | Daniel van Tonder (8) | 32 | Flagship event | |
Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | – | Cancelled[7] | – | EUR | ||
30 Jan | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | North West | 1,000,000 | Martin Rohwer (2) | 8 | ||
Kit Kat Group Pro-Am | Gauteng | – | Cancelled[h] | – | Pro-Am | ||
13 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 6,000,000 | Alexander Knappe (1) | 13 | CHA | Pro-Am |
20 Feb | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Western Cape | US$250,000 | J. C. Ritchie (9) | 13 | CHA | |
27 Feb | Jonsson Workwear Open | KwaZulu-Natal | US$250,000 | J. C. Ritchie (10) | 13 | CHA | New tournament |
6 Mar | Mangaung Open | Free State | US$250,000 | Oliver Hundebøll (n/a) | 13 | CHA | New tournament |
13 Mar | MyGolfLife Open | North West | US$1,500,000 | Pablo Larrazábal (n/a) | 23 | EUR | New tournament |
20 Mar | Steyn City Championship | Gauteng | US$1,500,000 | Shaun Norris (3) | 19 | EUR | New tournament |
27 Mar | SDC Open | Limpopo | US$250,000 | Clément Sordet (n/a) | 13 | CHA | New tournament |
3 Apr | Limpopo Championship | Limpopo | US$250,000 | Mateusz Gradecki (n/a) | 13 | CHA | |
Mount Kilamanjaro Klassic | Tanzania | – | Removed[9] | – | CHA | New tournament | |
24 Apr | Stella Artois Players Championship | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Jaco Ahlers (10) | 14 | ||
1 May | The Tour Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Tristen Strydom (1) | 14 | Tour Championship |
The following events were sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 May | Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament | Gauteng | 100,000 | Yubin Jung | n/a | New tournament |
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[10][11] The top three players on the Order of Merit (not otherwise exempt) earned status to play on the 2023 European Tour (DP World Tour).[12]
Position | Player | Prize money (R) | Status earned |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Shaun Norris | 4,890,994 | Already exempt[i] |
2 | Dean Burmester | 4,196,182 | Already exempt[j] |
3 | Thriston Lawrence | 3,854,950 | Already exempt[i] |
4 | Oliver Bekker | 3,359,398 | Already exempt[j] |
5 | Hennie du Plessis | 2,779,485 | |
6 | J. C. Ritchie | 2,691,199 | Already exempt[k] |
7 | Zander Lombard | 1,949,393 | Already exempt[j] |
8 | Daniel van Tonder | 1,943,891 | Promoted to European Tour |
9 | Tristen Strydom | 1,843,480 | |
10 | George Coetzee | 1,816,637 | Already exempt[j] |
11 | Wilco Nienaber | 1,735,209 | Promoted to European Tour |
Award | Winner | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Jayden Schaper | [17][18] |
Rain continued to fall on the already waterlogged Wild Coast Sun Country Club course overnight and, with no play possible on Thursday, the Sunshine Tour took the decision to cancel the SunBet Challenge...
The South African Open will be played as an event only sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, with a purse of $500,000.
Shaun Norris claimed the top spot on the final Order of Merit thanks largely to his victory in the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Steyn City Championship.
Last year, Daniel van Tonder, Tristen Strydom and Wilco Nienaber benefited from a new exemption for the leading three players, not otherwise exempt, from the 2022 Sunshine Tour rankings.