The 1985–86 Southern Africa Tour was the 15th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 11 December 1985 – 16 March 1986 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 11 |
| Most wins |  Mark McNulty (5) |
| Order of Merit | Mark McNulty |
← 1984–85 1986–87 → | |
Season outline edit
South African David Frost had much success in the early part of the season, finishing in first or second place at the first six events. At the first tournament, the Safmarine South African Masters, Frost finished runner-up, four behind hampion Mark McNulty.[1] The Goodyear Classic, played the following week, saw Denis Watson beat Frost by one shot.[2] At the third event, the ICL International, Gavan Levenson beat Frost by one shot.[3] At the Lexington PGA Championship, Frost once again finished runner-up, five shots behind winner Bobby Cole.[4] The final round of the fifth tournament, the Wild Coast Classic, started as a "match-play duel" between Frost and McNulty before McNulty went on to a "runaway win." Frost finished solo second.[5] At the sixth event of the season, the Southern Suns South African Open, Frost finally won, birdieing the final three holes for a three stroke win over Tony Johnstone.[6] This was his last event of the season; days later Frost flew to America play on the PGA Tour.[6]
For the remainder of the season, Fulton Allem and Mark McNulty were the top contenders, earning the top two slots at nearly every late season event. At the seventh event, the AECI Charity Classic, Allem outdueled McNulty down the stretch and defeated him by a shot.[7] The following week, however, McNulty recorded a final round 69 to win by six shots over runner-up Allem at the Barclays Bank Classic.[8] Allem won the next event, the Palabora Classic.[9] The following week, at the Swazi Sun Pro-Am, McNulty shot a 65 and against Allem's 66 in the final round to tie at the end of the regulation. At the par-3 playoff hole, Allem made bogey, giving McNulty the win.[10] McNulty also won the final event, the Trustbank Tournament of Champions.[11] McNulty won the Order of Merit in a "runaway." Allem finished second.[12]
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 1985–86 season.[11]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Dec | Safmarine South African Masters | Cape | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (10) |
n/a | |
| 21 Dec | Goodyear Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 | Denis Watson (3) |
n/a | |
| 18 Jan | ICL International | Transvaal | 100,000 |  Gavan Levenson (4) |
10 | |
| 25 Jan | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 100,000 | Bobby Cole (7) |
20 | |
| 1 Feb | Wild Coast Classic | Cape | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (11) |
10 | |
| 8 Feb | Southern Suns South African Open | Transvaal | 100,000 | David Frost (2) |
20 | |
| 15 Feb | AECI Charity Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 | Fulton Allem (1) |
10 | |
| 23 Feb | Barclays Bank Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (12) |
10 | New tournament |
| 1 Mar | Palabora Classic | Transvaal | 110,000 | Fulton Allem (2) |
10 | |
| 9 Mar | Swazi Sun Pro-Am | Swaziland | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (13) |
10 | Pro-Am |
| 16 Mar | Trustbank Tournament of Champions | Transvaal | 120,000 | Mark McNulty (14) |
20 | Tour Championship |
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) |
Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Dec | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | Transvaal | US$1,000,000 |  Bernhard Langer
|
Limited-field event |
Order of Merit edit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[13]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark McNulty |
113,527 |
Notes edit
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Southern Africa Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Southern Africa Tour members.
References edit
- ^ Frederick, Adrian (16 December 1985). "McNulty is the master". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 17. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Watson's late show". Sunday Sun. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. 22 December 1985. p. 37. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Levenson by stroke". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 20 January 1986. p. 18. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sutton's double 64". Sunday Sun. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. 26 January 1986. p. 47. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Runaway win for McNulty". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 3 February 1986. p. 20. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Frederick, Adrian (10 February 1986). "Consistent Frost champion at last". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "Birdies". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 16 February 1986. p. 50. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Brown swoops for a safari double". The Journal. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. 24 February 1986. p. 13. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Classic win for Allem". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 3 March 1986. p. 26. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Play-off win for McNulty". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 10 March 1986. p. 24. Retrieved 28 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "1985/86 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 20 Nov 1986, page 34". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.