2020–21 Sunshine Tour
The 2020–21 Sunshine Tour was the 21st season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa-based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000. The Sunshine Tour represented the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
The tour was based predominantly in South Africa with other events being held in Eswatini, Zambia, Mauritius and Kenya.
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]
In January 2021, the schedule was once again disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as several tournaments scheduled for early in the year were postponed by a month or more, with the season restarting in March. Among the tournaments affected were three co-sanctioned events with the Challenge Tour.[3]
Schedule[]
The table below shows the revised schedule of events for the 2020–21 Sunshine Tour season following the tour's suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Prize funds shown did not count directly towards the Order of Merit. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of official money Sunshine Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Other tours[a] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Aug | Gauteng | 600,000 |  Darren Fichardt (18)
|
7 | Rise Up Series | ||
| 28 Aug | Gauteng | 600,000 | Daniel van Tonder (4)
|
7 | Rise Up Series | ||
| 4 Sep | Gauteng | 600,000 | George Coetzee (11)
|
7 | Rise Up Series | ||
| 25 Sep | Gauteng | 600,000 | Daniel van Tonder (5)
|
4 | Rise Up Series | ||
| 2 Oct | Gauteng | 600,000 | Daniel van Tonder (6)
|
4 | Rise Up Series | ||
| 23 Oct | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Merrick Bremner (7)
|
4 | |||
| 31 Oct | Investec Royal Swazi Open | North West | 1,500,000 | Daniel van Tonder (7)
|
14 | ||
| 6 Nov | Gauteng | 700,000 | (1)
|
7 | |||
| 22 Nov | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 19,500,000 |  Joachim B. Hansen (n/a)
|
19 | EUR | |
| 29 Nov | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | 29,000,000 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (3)
|
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 6 Dec | South African Open | North West | 19,500,000 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (4)
|
19 | EUR |
- ^ EUR − European Tour.
Original schedule[]
The table below shows the schedule of early season tournaments as announced prior to the tour's suspension in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 May | Investec Royal Swazi Open | Eswatini | 1,500,000 | |
| 17 May | Zambia Open | Zambia | 2,000,000 | |
| 24 May | Lombard Insurance Classic | Western Cape | 1,250,000 | |
| 5 Jun | Sun City Challenge | North West | 1,000,000 | |
| 25 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Western Cape |
Western Cape | 1,000,000 | |
| 31 Jul | Eswatini | 1,000,000 | ||
| 7 Aug | Eswatini | 1,000,000 | New tournament | |
| 16 Aug | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 1,500,000 | |
| 23 Aug | Zanaco Masters | Zambia | 2,200,000 | |
| 29 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Central |
TBC | 1,000,000 | |
| 5 Sep | Eswatini | 1,000,000 | ||
| 13 Sep | KCB Karen Masters | Kenya | 2,200,000 | |
| 19 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Eastern Cape |
Eastern Cape | 1,000,000 | |
| 25 Sep | Eastern Cape | 1,000,000 | ||
| 2 Oct | KwaZulu-Natal | 1,000,000 | ||
| 10 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at KwaZulu-Natal |
KwaZulu-Natal | 1,000,000 | |
| 23 Oct | KwaZulu-Natal | 1,000,000 | ||
| 7 Nov | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | TBC | 1,000,000 |
Order of Merit[]
This shows the final Order of Merit leaders.
| Rank | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
7,789,088 |
| 2 | Joachim B. Hansen |
3,277,475 |
| 3 | Wilco Nienaber |
2,681,740 |
| 4 | |
2,170,478 |
| 5 | Shaun Norris |
1,183,904 |
References[]
- ^ "Sunshine Tour suspends all activities". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Sunshine Tour announces return with new Rise-Up Series". SuperSport. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Sunshine Tour postpones start of 2021 schedule until March". News24. 13 January 2021.
- ^ "2020/21 Season – Tournament Schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
External links[]
- Sunshine Tour
- 2020 in golf
- 2021 in golf