2022–23 Sunshine Tour

The 2022–23 Sunshine Tour was the 52nd season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

2022–23 Sunshine Tour season
Duration13 May 2022 (2022-05-13) – 23 April 2023 (2023-04-23)
Number of official events33
Most winsSouth Africa George Coetzee (2)
South Africa Dylan Mostert (2)
South Africa Albert Venter (2)
Order of MeritSouth Africa Ockie Strydom
Rookie of the YearSouth Africa Casey Jarvis

Changes for 2022–23

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The season marked the return of the FBC Zim Open, having not been played since 2018.[1]

In May 2022, the tour announced that the Order of Merit would be rebranded as the Luno Order of Merit, calculated using a points-based system rather than money earned.[2]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 2022–23 season.[3]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)
Winner[a] OWGR
points
Other
tours[b]
Notes
15 May Lombard Insurance Classic Western Cape 1,200,000   Herman Loubser (1) 7
22 May FBC Zim Open Zimbabwe 2,000,000   Albert Venter (1) 14
29 May Sishen Classic Northern Cape 3,000,000   Deon Germishuys (1) 14 New tournament
3 Jun SunBet Challenge (Sun City) North West 1,000,000   Rourke van der Spuy (3) 4
12 Jun Kit Kat Group Pro-Am Gauteng 1,000,000   Dylan Mostert (1) 4 Pro-Am
30 Jul FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Challenge Eswatini 1,000,000   Jaco Prinsloo (6) 4 New tournament[c]
6 Aug Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze Western Cape 1,150,000   George Coetzee (13) 4
13 Aug Bain's Whisky Ubunye Championship Gauteng 1,200,000   Merrick Bremner (8) and
  Martin Rohwer (3)
n/a New team event
19 Aug SunBet Challenge (Time Square Casino) Gauteng 1,000,000   Albert Venter (2) 2.43
27 Aug Vodacom Origins of Golf at Highland Gate Mpumalanga 1,150,000   Anthony Michael (1) 2.01
10 Sep Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge KwaZulu-Natal 1,200,000   Jaco van Zyl (15) 2.32 New tournament
17 Sep Vodacom Origins of Golf at San Lameer KwaZulu-Natal 1,150,000   Wynand Dingle (1) 2.29
23 Sep SunBet Challenge (Wild Coast Sun) Western Cape 1,000,000   M. J. Viljoen (2) 1.97
1 Oct Vodacom Origins of Golf at St Francis Eastern Cape 1,150,000   Ruan Korb (2) 1.74
9 Oct Fortress Invitational Gauteng 1,500,000   Pieter Moolman (1) 2.40 New tournament
15 Oct Blue Label Challenge North West 2,500,000   Stephen Ferreira (1) 2.19 Pro-Am
21 Oct SunBet Challenge (Sun Sibaya) KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000   Dylan Naidoo (1) 1.37
30 Oct Vodacom Origins of Golf Final Western Cape 1,500,000   Combrinck Smit (1) 1.88
6 Nov PGA Championship Eastern Cape 1,200,000   George Coetzee (14) 2.37
27 Nov Joburg Open Gauteng 17,500,000   Dan Bradbury (n/a) 9.24 EUR
4 Dec Investec South African Open Championship Gauteng US$1,500,000   Thriston Lawrence (3) 12.12 EUR
11 Dec Alfred Dunhill Championship Mpumalanga €1,500,000   Ockie Strydom (2) 14.59 EUR
18 Dec AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Mauritius €1,000,000   Antoine Rozner (n/a) 8.60 EUR
5 Feb Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open Western Cape US$350,000   Benjamin Follett-Smith (2) 5.67 CHA
12 Feb Dimension Data Pro-Am Western Cape 7,000,000   Oliver Bekker (8) 6.05 CHA Pro-Am
19 Feb SDC Open Limpopo US$350,000   J. J. Senekal (3) 5.21 CHA
26 Feb Nelson Mandela Bay Championship Eastern Cape US$350,000   Dylan Mostert (2) 5.25 CHA New tournament
11 Mar Mediclinic Invitational Gauteng 2,000,000   Stefan Wears-Taylor (1) 2.34 New tournament
19 Mar SDC Championship Eastern Cape US$1,500,000   Matthew Baldwin (n/a) 14.81 EUR New tournament
26 Mar Jonsson Workwear Open Gauteng US$1,500,000   Nick Bachem (n/a) 13.85 EUR
2 Apr Limpopo Championship Limpopo 2,000,000   Ryan van Velzen (1) 2.51
16 Apr Stella Artois Players Championship Gauteng 2,000,000   Kyle Barker (1) 2.75
23 Apr The Tour Championship Gauteng 2,000,000   Jaco Ahlers (11) 2.88 Tour Championship

Unofficial events

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The following events were sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)
Winner OWGR
points
Other
tours[b]
Notes
13 Nov Nedbank Golf Challenge North West US$6,000,000   Tommy Fleetwood 14.92 EUR Limited-field event
21 Apr Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament Gauteng 100,000   Robin Williams n/a

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was titled as the Luno Order of Merit and was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[4][5] The top three players on the Order of Merit (not otherwise exempt) earned status to play on the 2024 European Tour (DP World Tour).[6]

Position Player Points Status earned
1   Ockie Strydom 3,336 Already exempt[d]
2   Jaco Prinsloo 2,327 Promoted to European Tour
3   Thriston Lawrence 2,318 Already exempt[d]
4   Oliver Bekker 2,117 Promoted to European Tour
5   Dylan Mostert 1,912

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy)   Casey Jarvis [9][10]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b CHA − Challenge Tour; EUR − European Tour.
  3. ^ Tournament's debut delayed from 2020.
  4. ^ a b Strydom and Lawrence were already exempt due to being tournament winners on the 2023 European Tour (DP World Tour).[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "FBC Sponsors 2022 Zimbabwe Open Golf Tournament". FBC Bank Limited. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Sunshine Tour announces new Luno Order of Merit". Compleat Golfer. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ^ "2022/23 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. ^ "2022/23 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Strydom to end Sunshine Tour season as a Major player". Sunshine Tour. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023. Strydom goes into this week's Sunshine Tour season-ending Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates as the top-ranked golfer on the Tour's Luno Order of Merit. He cannot be caught this week so will end the season in first place.
  6. ^ Butler, Lynn (20 April 2023). "'Childhood dream come true': Sunshine boy Prinsloo with DP World Tour card in his pocket". News24. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. ^ Hall, Mike (12 December 2022). "Ockie Strydom Claims Maiden DP World Tour Win In Alfred Dunhill Championship". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "DP World Tour news: Thriston Lawrence avoids disaster to win South African Open". PlanetSport. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  9. ^ "2022/23 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Casey Jarvis Named Rookie of the Year on the Sunshine Tour". TaylorMade Golf. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
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