2019–20 Sunshine Tour

The 2019–20 Sunshine Tour was the 49th season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

2019–20 Sunshine Tour season
Duration28 March 2019 (2019-03-28) – 23 February 2020 (2020-02-23)
Number of official events25[a]
Most winsSouth Africa J. C. Ritchie (3)
Order of MeritSouth Africa J. C. Ritchie
Rookie of the YearSouth Africa Garrick Higgo

Schedule edit

The following table lists official events during the 2019–20 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)
Winner[b] OWGR
points
Other
tours[c]
Notes
31 Mar Mopani Redpath Greendoor Logistics Zambia Open Zambia 2,500,000   Daniel van Tonder (3) 14
7 Apr Zanaco Masters Zambia 2,000,000   J. C. Ritchie (5) 14
4 May Investec Royal Swazi Open Eswatini 1,500,000   Martin Rohwer (1) 14
19 May Lombard Insurance Classic Eswatini 1,000,000   Jake Redman (1) 4
7 Jun Sun City Challenge North West 1,000,000   Garrick Higgo (1) 7
30 Jun KCB Karen Masters Kenya 2,200,000   Toto Thimba Jr. (1) 14
2 Aug Royal Swazi Spa Challenge Eswatini 1,000,000   Ruan Conradie (1) 7
24 Aug Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen Northern Cape 1,000,000   Ockie Strydom (1) 4
1 Sep Zimbabwe Open Zimbabwe Cancelled[2]
7 Sep King's Cup Eswatini 1,000,000   Jaco Ahlers (8) 7 New tournament
28 Sep Vodacom Origins of Golf at Humewood Eastern Cape 1,000,000   Merrick Bremner (6) 4
5 Oct Vodacom Origins of Golf at Stellenbosch Western Cape 1,000,000   Thriston Lawrence (1) 4
11 Oct Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000   Jean Hugo (19) 7
19 Oct Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne Park KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000   Jaco Ahlers (9) 7
25 Oct Sibaya Challenge KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000   Hennie Otto (13) 7
2 Nov Vodacom Origins of Golf Final Western Cape 1,000,000   George Coetzee (10) 7
17 Nov Nedbank Golf Challenge North West US$7,500,000   Tommy Fleetwood (n/a) 36 EUR[d] Limited-field event
1 Dec Alfred Dunhill Championship Mpumalanga €1,500,000   Pablo Larrazábal (n/a) 19 EUR
8 Dec AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Mauritius €1,000,000   Rasmus Højgaard (n/a) 17 ASA, EUR
12 Jan South African Open Gauteng 17,500,000   Branden Grace (6) 32 EUR Flagship event
19 Jan Eye of Africa PGA Championship Gauteng 2,000,000   Darren Fichardt (17) 14
25 Jan Gauteng Team Championship Gauteng 1,500,000   Jaco Prinsloo (3) and
  J. C. Ritchie (6)
n/a Team event
2 Feb Limpopo Championship Limpopo 3,500,000   J. C. Ritchie (7) 13 CHA
9 Feb RAM Cape Town Open Western Cape 3,500,000   Anton Karlsson (n/a) 13 CHA
16 Feb Dimension Data Pro-Am Western Cape 6,300,000   Christiaan Bezuidenhout (2) 13 CHA Pro-Am
23 Feb The Tour Championship Gauteng 1,500,000   Garrick Higgo (2) 14 Tour Championship

Order of Merit edit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[3][4]

Position Player Prize money (R)
1   J. C. Ritchie 2,162,387
2   Daniel van Tonder 2,043,268
3   Jaco Ahlers 1,902,195
4   George Coetzee 1,722,930
5   Thriston Lawrence 1,377,891

Awards edit

Award Winner Ref.
Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy)   Garrick Higgo [5][6]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ A further one tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  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. ^ ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; EUR − European Tour.
  4. ^ European Tour Rolex Series

References edit

  1. ^ "2019/20 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  2. ^ Chitsiga, Takudzwa (11 July 2019). "Zim Open tourney cancelled again". The Chronicle. Zimbabwe. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ "2019/20 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ^ "JC Ritchie wins the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit". Sportyard. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  5. ^ "2019/20 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  6. ^ Michael Vlismas [@MichaelVlismas] (24 February 2020). "@garrick_higgo wins the Tour Championship and @Sunshine_Tour Rookie of the Year trophy" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 April 2023 – via Twitter.

External links edit