1993–94 Southern Africa Tour Explained

Year:1993–94
Tour:Southern Africa Tour
Regular Season:
No Of Events:9
Most Wins: Tony Johnstone (3)
Honor1:Order of Merit
Honoree1: Tony Johnstone
Honor2:Rookie of the Year
Honoree2: Brenden Pappas
Prevseason:1992–93
Nextseason:1994–95

The 1993–94 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1993–94 FNB Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 23rd season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

It was the second season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with First National Bank, that began in 1992.[1]

Season outline

Zimbabweans Mark McNulty, Tony Johnstone, and Nick Price had much success at the beginning of the season. McNulty won the first tournament of the year, the FNB Players Championship.[2] Johnstone then won two national opens early in the season, the Zimbabwe Open and Philips South African Open.[3] At the unofficial Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge, meanwhile, Price scored four rounds in the mid-60s to defeat runner-up McNulty by 12 strokes. "Without a doubt it's the finest four rounds of golf I've ever put together in my life," he said after the event.[4] Johnstone won the next event, the Bell's Cup. It was his fourth consecutive win on the Southern Africa Tour going back to last season. It tied Gary Player's winning streak.[5] The following week, at the Lexington PGA Championship, David Frost defeated runner-up Price by seven shots.[6] Days later, Price opened with an eleven-under 61 at the ICL International. He broke the course record at Zwartkop Country Club by three strokes and tied for the lowest round ever on the Southern Africa Tour.[7] Price would go to win by nine over Frost and American Bruce Vaughan. It was his third win at the event.[8]

A variety of little known overseas golfers had success over the remainder of the season. The seventh tournament, the Telkom South African Masters, was won by Englishman Chris Davison. It was first win on tour.[9] The following event, the Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic, was won by American Omar Uresti.[10] He defeated fellow American Andrew Pitts by two shots.[11] The final event of the season, the Autopage Mount Edgecombe Trophy, was won by American Bruce Vaughan.[12]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1993–94 season.[13] [14]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(R)
WinnerOWGR
points
Notes
21 Nov Transvaal 550,000 Mark McNulty (23) 16
28 Nov Zimbabwe 300,000 Tony Johnstone (14) 22
12 Dec Natal 550,000 Tony Johnstone (15) 20
9 Jan Cape 500,000 Tony Johnstone (16) 22
16 Jan Transvaal 550,000 David Frost (4) 30
23 Jan Transvaal 500,000 Nick Price (6) 26
30 Jan Transvaal 500,000 Chris Davison (1) 14
6 Feb Swaziland 400,000 Omar Uresti (1) 12
13 Feb Natal 500,000 Bruce Vaughan (1) 16

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.[15]

PositionPlayerPrize money (R)
1 297,359
2 189,453
3 160,410
4 156,219
5 135,518

Notes and References

  1. Book: South Africa and international sports factfinder . Anton . Berkovitz . Andrew . Samson . D. Nelson . 1993 . 1868061019 . 96 . 13 September 2023.
  2. Web site: The Daily Telegraph 22 Nov 1993, page 36 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com . en.
  3. Web site: The Daily Telegraph 13 Dec 1993, page 34 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  4. Web site: The Stuart News 06 Dec 1993, page 29 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com . en.
  5. Web site: Leicester Mercury 10 Jan 1994, page 37 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  6. Web site: The Daily Telegraph 17 Jan 1994, page 34 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  7. Web site: The Daily Telegraph 21 Jan 1994, page 37 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  8. Web site: The News and Observer 24 Jan 1994, page 35 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  9. Web site: Leicester Mercury 31 Jan 1994, page 37 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  10. Web site: Austin American-Statesman 07 Feb 1994, page 10 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  11. Web site: Leicester Mercury 07 Feb 1994, page 29 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  12. Web site: Detroit Free Press 14 Feb 1994, page Page 21 . 2023-10-29 . Newspapers.com . en.
  13. Web site: 1993/94 Tournament schedule . Sunshine Tour . 7 October 2023.
  14. Book: Williams, Michael . The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook 1995 . 1995 . Macmillan . 0333626818 . 110 . 23 December 2023 . Archive.org . limited.
  15. Web site: 1993/94 Order of Merit . Sunshine Tour . 7 October 2023.
  16. Web site: 2007 Nationwide Tour Media Guide . PGA Tour . 2007 . 21 August 2024 . 2-48 . Brenden Pappas Member of the Southern Africa Tour since 1994. Finished third on the Order of Merit in 1995-96. Named Rookie of the Year in 1993-94..