The 1975–76 Southern Africa Tour was the fifth season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 26 November 1975 – 15 February 1976 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 9[a] |
| Most wins |  Dale Hayes (3) Allan Henning (3) |
| Order of Merit | Allan Henning |
← 1974–75 1976–77 → | |
Season outline edit
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.
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.[1] 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.[10]
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 1975–76 season.[11][10]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[b] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Nov | Beck's PGA Championship | Transvaal | 35,000 | Dale Hayes (9) |
|
| 6 Dec | Holiday Inns Open | Swaziland | 20,000 | Dale Hayes (10) |
|
| 13 Dec | General Motors International Classic | Cape | 20,000 | Gary Player (9) |
|
| 10 Jan | Datsun International | Transvaal | 20,000 | Allan Henning (3) |
|
| Natal Open | Natal | – | Cancelled | ||
| 17 Jan | ICL International | Transvaal | 20,000 |  Peter Townsend (1) |
|
| 24 Jan | NCR Western Province Open | Cape | 15,000 | Allan Henning (4) |
|
| 31 Jan | BP South African Open | Transvaal | 20,000 | Dale Hayes (11) |
|
| 7 Feb | Dunlop South African Masters | Transvaal | 18,000 | Gary Player (10) |
|
| 15 Feb | Rhodesian Dunlop Masters | Rhodesia | 15,000 | Allan Henning (5) |
Unofficial events edit
The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winners | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jan | Datsun International | Transvaal | n/a | Team South Africa
|
Team event |
Order of Merit edit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[10]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allan Henning |
18,275 |
| 2 | Dale Hayes |
17,630 |
| 3 | John Fourie |
12,001 |
| 4 | Cobie Legrange |
10,413 |
| 5 | Hugh Baiocchi |
9,880 |
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Hayes "burns"". The Age. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Hayes repeats". The Morning Call. 30 November 1975. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Play-of win". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 8 December 1975. p. 15 (26 in paper). Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Birthday success for Reece". The Birmingham Post. 12 January 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Townsend Victory". The Daily Telegraph. 19 January 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Holiday sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 26 January 1976. p. 11 (18 in paper). Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "S. Africans Tie in Open". The Miami Herald. 1 February 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Dale Hayes Wins". The Evening Review. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Golf title". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 February 1976. p. 17. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c Simms, George (1977). World of Golf 1977. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 136–144. ISBN 0354090011.
- ^ "1975/76 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 10 September 2023.