2020–21 Sunshine Tour Explained

Year:2020–21
Tour:Sunshine Tour
Regular Season:
No Of Events:11
Most Wins: Daniel van Tonder (4)
Honor1:Order of Merit
Honoree1: Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Honor2:Rookie of the Year
Honoree2: Jayden Schaper
Prevseason:2019–20
Nextseason:2021–22

The 2020–21 Sunshine Tour was the 50th 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

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour announced a suspension on 16 March.[1] Later, the first two scheduled tournaments, the Investec Royal Swazi Open and the Zambia Open, were postponed. On 5 August, the tour announced its resumption, starting in mid-August with a new series of five 54-hole tournaments, called the "Rise Up Series".[2]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2020–21 season.[3]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(R)
WinnerOWGR
points
Other
tours
Notes
17 MayZambia OpenZambiaPostponed
24 MayLombard Insurance ClassicWestern CapePostponed
5 JunSun City ChallengeNorth WestPostponed
25 JulVodacom Origins of GolfWestern CapePostponed
31 JulRoyal Swazi Spa ChallengeEswatiniPostponed
7 AugFNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Sunshine Tour Golf ChallengeEswatiniPostponedNew tournament
16 AugZimbabwe OpenZimbabwePostponed
21 AugBetway ChampionshipGauteng600,000 Darren Fichardt (18) 7New tournament
23 AugZanaco MastersZambiaPostponed
28 AugAfrican Bank Sunshine Tour ChampionshipGauteng600,000 Daniel van Tonder (4)7New tournament
29 AugVodacom Origins of GolfFree StatePostponed
4 SepTitleist ChampionshipGauteng600,000 George Coetzee (11)7New tournament
5 SepKing's CupEastern CapePostponed
13 SepKCB Karen MastersKenyaPostponed
19 SepVodacom Origins of GolfEastern CapePostponed
25 SepSun Boardwalk ChallengeEastern CapePostponed
25 SepVodacom Championship UnlockedGauteng600,000 Daniel van Tonder (5)4New tournament
2 OctVodacom Championship ReloadedGauteng600,000 Daniel van Tonder (6)4New tournament
10 OctVodacom Origins of GolfKwaZulu-NatalPostponed
23 OctSibaya ChallengeKwaZulu-NatalPostponed
23 Oct
2 Oct
Sun Wild Coast Sun ChallengeKwaZulu-Natal700,000 Merrick Bremner (7)4
31 Oct
9 May
Investec Royal Swazi OpenNorth West1,500,000 Daniel van Tonder (7) 14
6 NovTime Square Casino ChallengeGauteng700,000 Ruan Korb (1)7New tournament
7 NovVodacom Origins of Golf FinalNorth WestPostponed
22 NovJoburg OpenGauteng19,500,000 Joachim B. Hansen (n/a) 19EUR
29 NovAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipMpumalanga29,000,000 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (3)32EURFlagship event
6 DecSouth African OpenNorth West19,500,000 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (4)19EUR

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[4] [5]

Position Player Prize money (R)
1 7,789,088
2 3,277,475
3 2,681,740
4 2,170,478
5 1,183,904

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sunshine Tour suspends all activities . Sunshine Tour . 16 March 2020 . 6 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210118164236/https://sunshinetour.com/sunshine-tour-suspends-all-activities-nathan/ . 18 January 2021.
  2. Web site: Sunshine Tour announces return with new Rise-Up Series . SuperSport . 5 August 2020 . 5 August 2020.
  3. Web site: 2020/21 Tournament schedule . Sunshine Tour . 7 September 2023.
  4. Web site: 2020/21 Order of Merit . Sunshine Tour . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417194237/https://sst.ocs-sport.com/tic/tmoom.cgi?oom=FT~imp=n~lspos=n~dc=N~bdlink=Y~season=220S~style=00~groupties=Y~pr=N~textout=N~bordersize=1~fontsize=*~winfocus=Y~ . 17 April 2023.
  5. 15 Things You Didn't Know About Christiaan Bezuidenhout . Golf Monthly . Sam . Tremlett . 21 May 2021 . 7 September 2023 . He won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 2020/21 after winning back-to-back Sunshine/European Tour co-sanctioned events at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and South African Open..
  6. Web site: 2020/21 Rookie of the Year . Sunshine Tour . 18 April 2023 . 18 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230418162958/https://sst.ocs-sport.com/tic/tmoom.cgi?oom=RK~imp=n~lspos=n~dc=N~bdlink=Y~season=220S~style=00~groupties=Y~pr=N~textout=N~bordersize=1~fontsize=*~winfocus=Y~ . dead .
  7. GolfRSA . GolfRSA . 1333335344259981323 . Bank the lessons learned Jay and take pride in your achievement! . 30 November 2020 . 18 April 2023 . Congratulations on leading the 2020 @Sunshine_Tour Rookie of the Year race!!.