2021–22 Sunshine Tour

Golf tour season

2021–22 Sunshine Tour seasonDuration| 5 March 2021 (2021-03-05) – 1 May 2022 (2022-05-01)

|

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-season changes

[edit]

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]

## European Tour partnership

[edit]

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]

## Schedule

[edit]

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]
~~7 Feb~~ | 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
~~28 Mar~~ | The Tour Championship | Gauteng  | –  | Removed[e] | –  |  | Tour Championship
~~18 Apr~~ | Zanaco Masters | Zambia  | –  | Removed[e] | –  |  |
25 Apr[d]
~~28 Feb~~ | Limpopo Championship | Limpopo  | 3,000,000  |  Brandon Stone (4)  | 13  | CHA |
2 May[d]
~~21 Feb~~ | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Western Cape  | 3,000,000  |  J. C. Ritchie (8)  | 13  | CHA |
9 May[d]
~~14 Feb~~ | 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  |  |
~~13 Aug~~ | 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  |  |
~~4 Sep~~ | King's Cup | Eswatini  | –  | Removed[e] | –  |  |
10 Sep | Sunshine Tour Invitational | Gauteng  | 1,000,000  |  Jacques Kruyswijk (2)  | 4  |  | New tournament
~~12 Sep~~ | Zanaco Masters | Zambia  | –  | Removed[e] | –  |  |
18 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Mount Edgecombe  | KwaZulu-Natal  | 1,000,000  |  Louis Albertse (1)  | 4  |  |
~~26 Sep~~ | Karen Masters | Kenya  | –  | Removed[e] | –  |  |
2 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Humewood  | Eastern Cape  | 1,000,000  |  Daniel Greene (1)  | 4  |  |
~~9 Oct~~ | 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  |  |
~~14 Nov~~ | 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  | ~~EUR~~ | Flagship event
~~12 Dec~~ | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga  | –  | Cancelled[7] | –  | EUR |
30 Jan | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | North West  | 1,000,000  |  Martin Rohwer (2)  | 8  |  |
~~6 Feb~~ | 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 |
~~10 Apr~~ | 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

### Unofficial events

[edit]

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

## Order of Merit

[edit]

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

## Awards

[edit]

Award | Winner | Ref.

|
|

Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) |  Jayden Schaper | [17][18]

## See also

[edit]

* 2020–21 Big Easy Tour

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ A further 11 tournaments were scheduled but were either cancelled, postponed or otherwise removed from the schedule.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ a b CHA − Challenge Tour; EUR − European Tour.
4. ^ a b c d Originally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. ^ a b c d e f Removed from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
6. ^ Cancelled due to rain.[4]
7. ^ Reduced from US$1,500,000 after losing European Tour co-sanctioning as a result of COVID-19 related travel restrictions.[6]
8. ^ Cancelled after one round due to rain.[8]
9. ^ a b Norris and Lawrence were already exempt due to being tournament winners on the 2022 European Tour (DP World Tour).[13][14]
10. ^ a b c d Burmester, Bekker, du Plessis, Lombard and Coetzee were already exempt due to finishing inside the Top 117 of the 2022 DP World Tour Rankings.[15]
11. ^ Ritchie was already exempt due to finishing inside the Top 20 of the 2022 Challenge Tour Rankings.[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sunshine Tour postpones start of 2021 schedule until March". News24. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
2. ^ "European Tour and Sunshine Tour launch landmark partnership". European Tour. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
3. ^ "2021/22 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
4. ^ "SunBet Challenge cancelled". Compleat Golfer. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023. "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..."
5. ^ "Nedbank Golf Challenge cancelled for second year in a row". News24. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
6. ^ Ballengee, Ryan (26 November 2021). "New Covid variant, flight bans affect Joburg Open, South African Open, Alfred Dunhill Championship". Golf News Net. Retrieved 7 September 2023. "The South African Open will be played as an event only sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, with a purse of $500,000."
7. ^ "Alfred Dunhill Championship cancelled". Compleat Golfer. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
8. ^ Somdyala, Kamva (5 February 2022). "Inclement Gauteng weather forces cancellation of golf's Kit Kat Pro-Am event". News24. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
9. ^ "Challenge Tour statement on the Mount Kilimanjaro Klassic". European Tour. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
10. ^ "2021/22 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
11. ^ "Strydom claims record Tour Championship win". Compleat Golfer. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023. "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."
12. ^ "Sunshine Tour number ones shining on the DP World Tour". European Tour. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023. "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."
13. ^ "Norris claims emotional victory in Steyn City Championship". Irish Golfer. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
14. ^ "Saturday's golf: Thriston Lawrence wins 36-hole Joburg Open after 3rd round abandoned". Detroit News. Associated Press. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
15. ^ "2022 DP World Tour Rankings". European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
16. ^ "2022 Road to Mallorca". European Tour. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
17. ^ "2021/22 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
18. ^ Sunshine Tour [@Sunshine_Tour] (3 May 2022). "Congratulations to @schaperjayden on ending the 2021/22 #SunshineTour season as the Rookie of the year" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 April 2023 - via Twitter.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

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