1975–76 Southern Africa Tour Explained

Year:1975–76
Tour:Southern Africa Tour
Regular Season:
No Of Events:9
Most Wins: Dale Hayes (3)
Allan Henning (3)
Honor1:Order of Merit
Honoree1: Allan Henning
Prevseason:1974–75
Nextseason:1976–77

The 1975–76 Southern Africa Tour was the fifth season of the Southern Africa Tour. The season was dominated by Dale Hayes and Allan Henning who won the majority of the events. Hayes started the season excellently, winning the first two events. However, Henning won the Datsun International and NCR Western Province Open to close in on the Order of Merit race. Hayes won the flagship event, the BP South African Open, but Henning won the season's final event, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters, to capture Order of Merit honors.

Season outline

The first tournament of the season was the Beck's PGA Championship at Wanderers Golf Club. There was a 36-hole finale due to a rainout on Friday. Hayes shot a 62 (−8) in the third round which "virtually assured" that he would be victorious.[1] He it described as his best round ever.[2] The round broke the course recorded by three shots. Hayes followed it up with a three-under-par 67 to defeat Henning, the solo runner-up, by six shots. Hayes won the following event, the Holiday Inns Open, as well, defeating John Fourie in a playoff.[3]

Henning won the fourth official tournament of the season, the Datsun International, while Hayes finished runner-up.[4] The next week, at the ICL International, Hayes and Henning finished joint runner-up, one behind England's Peter Townsend.[5] Henning then won the next event, the NCR Western Province Open.[6] In late January, Hayes tied John Fourie at the end of regulation at the BP South African Open.[7] Like earlier in the season, Hayes again defeated Fourie in a playoff.[8] Henning, however, won the final event of the year, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters.[9] This assured that he secured the Order of Merit by a small margin over Hayes.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1975–76 season.[10] [11]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(R)
WinnerNotes
29 Nov Transvaal 35,000 Dale Hayes (9)
6 Dec Holiday Inns OpenSwaziland 20,000 Dale Hayes (10)
13 Dec Cape 20,000 Gary Player (9)
10 Jan Transvaal 20,000 Allan Henning (3)
17 Jan Natal Cancelled
17 Jan Transvaal 20,000 Peter Townsend (1)
24 Jan Cape 15,000 Allan Henning (4)
31 Jan Transvaal 20,000 Dale Hayes (11)
7 Feb Transvaal 18,000 Gary Player (10)
15 Feb Rhodesia 15,000 Allan Henning (5)

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[11]

PositionPlayerPrize money (R)
1 18,275
2 17,630
3 12,001
4 10,413
5 9,880

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hayes "burns" . 2023-11-16 . The Age . en.
  2. Web site: November 30, 1975 . Hayes repeats . 2023-11-16 . The Morning Call . en.
  3. News: Play-of win . 2023-09-10 . The Age . Melbourne, Victoria, Australia . 8 December 1975 . 15 (26 in paper) . Google News Archive.
  4. Web site: January 12, 1976 . Birthday success for Reece . 2023-11-16 . The Birmingham Post . en.
  5. Web site: January 19, 1976 . Townsend Victory . 2023-11-16 . The Daily Telegraph . en.
  6. News: Holiday sport . 2023-09-10 . The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney, New South Wales, Australia . 26 January 1976 . 11 (18 in paper) . Google News Archive.
  7. Web site: February 1, 1976 . S. Africans Tie in Open . 2023-11-16 . The Miami Herald . en.
  8. Web site: Dale Hayes Wins . 2023-11-16 . The Evening Review . en.
  9. News: 1976-02-17 . Golf title . The Canberra Times . Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 2023-09-10 . 17 . Trove.
  10. Web site: 1975/76 Tournament schedule . Sunshine Tour . 10 September 2023.
  11. Book: Simms, George . World of Golf 1977 . Macdonald and Jane's . 1977 . 0354090011 . 136–144.