1992–93 Southern Africa Tour Explained

Year:1992–93
Tour:Southern Africa Tour
Regular Season:
No Of Events:9
Most Wins: Ernie Els (2)
Honor1:Order of Merit
Honoree1: Mark McNulty
Prevseason:1991–92
Nextseason:1993–94

The 1992–93 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1992–93 FNB Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

FNB title sponsorship

It was the first season in which the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with First National Bank, being renamed as the FNB Tour.[1]

Season outline

A handful of top golfers dominated the first part of the season. Ernie Els won the first event of the season, the FNB Players Championship, by four shots over Mark McNulty.[2] David Frost won the next event, the Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge with Els finishing joint third.[3] Els returned with a victory at the next official event, the Goodyear Classic, by two shots over Retief Goosen.[4] Fijian Vijay Singh won the first event after the Christmas break, the Bell's Cup, defeating McNulty by two shots.[5] McNulty, however, came back and won the following week at the Lexington PGA Championship by one shot over a number of players, including Nick Price.[6] At the fifth official tournament, the Mount Edgecombe Trophy, Goosen won his first event of the season, defeating runner-up Price by five shots.[7] Price returned with a victory the following week at the ICL International.[8]

In the later part of the season, a number of less notable players defeated the top performers. At the seventh event, the Philips South African Open, Clinton Whitelaw was victorious by two shots over Goosen.[9] The following week, at the Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic, Sean Pappas defeated Els in a playoff.[10] At the final event of the season, the EVS South African Masters, Zimbabwean Tony Johnstone defeated Roger Wessels by a shot with McNulty, Els, and Goosen all several shots back.[11]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1992–93 season.[12] [13]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(R)
WinnerOWGR
points
Notes
22 Nov Transvaal 500,000 Ernie Els (5) 26 New tournament
20 Dec Cape 350,000 Ernie Els (6) 14
10 Jan Cape 450,000 Vijay Singh (n/a) 26
17 Jan Transvaal 500,000 Mark McNulty (22) 26
24 Jan Natal 450,000 Retief Goosen (2) 20 New tournament
31 Jan Transvaal 450,000 Nick Price (5) 18
14 Feb Transvaal 500,000 Clinton Whitelaw (1) 18
21 Feb Swaziland 350,000 Sean Pappas (1) 14
28 Feb Transvaal 550,000 Tony Johnstone (13) 18

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.[14]

PositionPlayerPrize money (R)
1 250,079
2 222,496
3 204,289
4 170,450
5 128,843

Notes and References

  1. Book: South Africa and international sports factfinder . Anton . Berkovitz . Andrew . Samson . D. Nelson . 1993 . 1868061019 . 96 . 13 September 2023.
  2. News: Parry homes in on third success . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 23 November 1992 . 27 October 2023 . 36 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  3. Web site: The Roanoke Times 07 Dec 1992, page 45 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com . en.
  4. News: Els eases in with a record return . Grant . Winter . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 21 December 1992 . 27 October 2023 . 39 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  5. News: Fan gives Singh resting place . Grant . Winter . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 11 January 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 32 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  6. News: Thomas battles against the pain Golf . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 18 January 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 39 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  7. News: Trophy sets up Goosen for circuit . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 25 January 1993 . 27 October 2023 . Grant . Winter . 35 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  8. News: Price in top form . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 1 February 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 37 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  9. News: Sport summary Golf . The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney, New South Wales, Australia . 16 February 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 44 (43 in paper) . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  10. News: Stankowski: Places 10th at Swazi . Camarillo Star . Ventura, California . 23 February 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 14 (B2 in paper) . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  11. News: Oldcorn finds strength to notch first Tour victory . The Daily Telegraph . London, United Kingdom . 1 March 1993 . 27 October 2023 . 37 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  12. Web site: 1992/93 Tournament schedule . Sunshine Tour . 7 October 2023.
  13. Book: Williams, Michael . The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook 1994 . 99 . 1994 . 0333609441 . 23 December 2023 . Archive.org . limited.
  14. Web site: 1992/93 Order of Merit . Sunshine Tour . 7 October 2023.