1980–81 Southern Africa Tour
| Duration | 13 November 1980 – 28 February 1981 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 13 |
| Most wins |  Hugh Baiocchi (3) |
| Order of Merit |  Mark McNulty |
← 1979–80 1981–82 → | |
The 1980–81 Southern Africa Tour was the 10th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971. This was a breakout season for a trio of young Zimbabwean golfers, Mark McNulty, Nick Price, and Denis Watson. Early in the season, however, they regularly finished runner-up to veterans like Hugh Baiocchi, Harold Henning, and Bobby Cole. Late in the season, however, they all won tournaments with McNulty capturing Order of Merit honours.
Season outline
[edit]Early in the season it was veterans who dominated, often beating young golfers down the stretch. Veteran Hugh Baiocchi won the inaugural event of the season, the Zimbabwe Open, by one over joint runner-up Watson.[1] Baiocchi also won the subsequent event, the Lexington PGA Championship, by one shot over joint runner-up McNulty.[2] The following week's event, the ICL International, was won by a 46-year-old Harold Henning by a stroke over Watson, again joint runner-up.[3] The next week, at the Datsun South African Open, McNulty was runner-up again, four behind champion Bobby Cole, another veteran.[4]
Late in the year, the trio of young golfers from Zimbabwe started winning tournaments. At the first event after the Christmas interlude, Mark McNulty finally won, earning a victory at the Sigma Series 1, defeating Nick Price, the solo runner-up. The second edition of the series was won by John Bland.[5] Bland won again at the Sigma Series 3 with Price finishing as runner-up.[6] In February, at the Sun City Classic, McNulty looked set to win but a late hole "blunder" gave Lee Trevino the victory.[7] The following week, Price finally won, earning a victory at the SAB South African Masters by four shots over McNulty.[8] At the final event of the year, the Asseng Champion of Champions, Denis Watson claimed his first victory on tour. McNulty finished solo second.[9] McNulty won the Order of Merit with Price coming in third and Watson fifth.[10]
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 1980–81 season.[11][12]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Nov | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 30,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (8) |
|
| 22 Nov | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 100,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (9) |
|
| 29 Nov | ICL International | Transvaal | 45,000 | Harold Henning (3) |
|
| 6 Dec | Datsun South African Open | Natal | 75,000 | Bobby Cole (6) |
|
| 13 Dec | Kalahari Diamond Classic | Botswana | 20,000 |  Ian Mosey (1) |
|
| 10 Jan | Sigma Series 1 | Cape | 30,000 | Mark McNulty (2) |
New tournament series |
| 17 Jan | Sigma Series 2 | Orange Free State | 30,000 | John Bland (5) |
|
| 24 Jan | Sigma Series 3 | Cape | 30,000 | John Bland (6) |
|
| 31 Jan | Vaal Reefs Open | Transvaal | 30,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (10) |
|
| 7 Feb | Sun City Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 |  Lee Trevino (n/a) |
|
| 14 Feb | SAB South African Masters | Cape | 100,000 | Nick Price (2) |
|
| 21 Feb | Holiday Inns Pro-Am | Swaziland | 40,000 | Ian Mosey (2) |
Pro-Am |
| 28 Feb | Asseng Champion of Champions | Transvaal | 40,000 | Denis Watson (1) |
New tournament |
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 | Mark McNulty |
50,193 |
| 2 | Hugh Baiocchi |
43,402 |
| 3 | Nick Price |
34,436 |
| 4 | John Bland |
25,046 |
| 5 | Denis Watson |
22,704 |
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]- ^ "1980 Zimbabwe Open". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Champion Baiocchi defies Player charge". Sunday Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 23 November 1980. p. 37. Retrieved 14 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Michael (1 December 1980). "Henning's Title at Last Gasp". The Daily Telegraph. p. 26. Retrieved 14 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bobby Cole wins South Africa Open". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. 7 December 1980. p. 135. Retrieved 22 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1981 Sigma Series No 2". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "1981 Sigma Series No 3". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Verwey banned for wrong marking". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 9 February 1981. p. 30. Retrieved 22 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Price beats gale and field for title". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 16 February 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 22 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Watson earns his maiden victory". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 2 March 1981. p. 26. Retrieved 22 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "1980/81 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ McCormack, Mark H. (1981). Dunhill World of Professional Golf 1981. Springwood Books. pp. 149–158, 351–362. ISBN 0862540054.