2023–24 Sunshine Tour
| Duration | 4 May 2023 – 14 April 2024 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 31 |
| Most wins |  Dean Burmester (2) Luca Filippi (2) Louis Oosthuizen (2) Neil Schietekat (2) Ryan van Velzen (2) |
| Order of Merit | Ryan van Velzen |
| Rookie of the Year | Robin Williams |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
The 2023–24 Sunshine Tour was the 53rd season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Changes for 2023–24
[edit]The full 2023–24 schedule was announced in May 2023 and was originally intended to have 32 tournaments, and include co-sanctioned tournaments with the European Tour and Challenge Tour.[1] Notably, the Zanaco Masters returned to the schedule, having not been played on the Sunshine Tour since 2019.[2]
In May 2023, the Sunshine Tour announced that the Order of Merit had gained a new title sponsor, having previously been titled as the Luno Order of Merit, it was rebranded as the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.[3]
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 2023–24 season.[4]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May | FBC Zim Open | Zimbabwe | 2,200,000 | Neil Schietekat (4) |
1.65 | ||
| 21 May | Zanaco Masters | Zambia | 2,200,000 |  Robson Chinhoi (1) |
1.53 | ||
| 28 May | Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Louis Albertse (2) |
1.87 | Pro-Am | |
| 2 Jun | SunBet Challenge (Sun City) | North West | 1,250,000 | Hennie Otto (14) |
1.95 | ||
| 22 Jul | SunBet Challenge (Wild Coast) | Western Cape | 2,000,000 | CJ du Plessis (1) |
1.80 | ||
| 29 Jul | FNB Eswatini Challenge | Eswatini | 2,000,000 |  Peter Karmis (7) |
1.39 | ||
| 13 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zebula | Limpopo | 2,000,000 | Jacques Kruyswijk (3) |
2.06 | ||
| 18 Aug | SunBet Challenge (Time Square) | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Malcolm Mitchell (1) |
2.37 | ||
| 27 Aug | Bain's Whisky Ubunye Championship | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Luca Filippi (1) and Ryan van Velzen (2) |
n/a | Team event | |
| 1 Sep | Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge | Mpumalanga | 2,000,000 | Gerhard Pepler (1) |
1.65 | ||
| 17 Sep | VOG Western Cape | Western Cape | 2,000,000 | Kyle Barker (2) |
1.64 | ||
| 23 Sep | PGA Championship | Eastern Cape | 2,000,000 | Rupert Kaminski (1) |
1.84 | ||
| 8 Oct | Fortress Invitational | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Robin Williams (1) |
1.46 | ||
| 14 Oct | Blue Label Challenge | North West | 2,700,000 | Luca Filippi (2) |
1.63 | Pro-Am | |
| 22 Oct | VOG KZN | KwaZulu-Natal | 2,000,000 | Pieter Moolman (2) |
1.68 | ||
| 27 Oct | SunBet Challenge (Sun Sibaya) | KwaZulu-Natal | 2,000,000 | Martin Rohwer (4) |
1.80 | ||
| 5 Nov | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Western Cape | 2,000,000 | Neil Schietekat (5) |
1.47 | ||
| 26 Nov | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 20,500,000 | Dean Burmester (9) |
11.95 | EUR | |
| 3 Dec | Investec South African Open Championship | Gauteng | US$1,500,000 | Dean Burmester (10) |
12.59 | EUR | |
| 11 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,500,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (9) |
14.07 | EUR | |
| 17 Dec | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | US$1,200,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (10) |
11.05 | EUR | |
| 28 Jan | Mediclinic Invitational | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Ryan van Velzen (3) |
2.46 | ||
| 4 Feb | SDC Open | Limpopo | US$350,000 |  Rhys Enoch (3) |
5.89 | CHA | |
| 11 Feb | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Western Cape | US$350,000 |  Mikael Lindberg (n/a) |
6.40 | CHA | |
| 18 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 7,000,000 |  David Ravetto (n/a) |
7.35 | CHA | |
| 25 Feb | NMB Championship | Eastern Cape | US$350,000 | Björn Åkesson (n/a) |
5.49 | CHA | |
| 3 Mar | SDC Championship | Eastern Cape | US$1,500,000 |  Jordan Gumberg (n/a) |
13.81 | EUR | |
| 10 Mar | Jonsson Workwear Open | Gauteng | US$1,500,000 |  Matteo Manassero (n/a) |
13.99 | EUR | |
| 24 Mar | Stella Artois Players Championship | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Heinrich Bruiners (2) |
2.87 | ||
| 7 Apr | Limpopo Championship | Limpopo | 2,000,000 | Deon Germishuys (2) |
2.57 | ||
| 14 Apr | The Tour Championship | Gauteng | 2,000,000 | Jonathan Broomhead (1) |
3.13 | Tour Championship |
Unofficial events
[edit]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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Apr | Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament | Gauteng | 100,000 | Thabang Simon
|
n/a |
Order of Merit
[edit]The Order of Merit was titled as the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[5] The top three players on the Order of Merit earned status to play on the 2025 European Tour (DP World Tour).[6][7]
| Position | Player | Points | Status earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan van Velzen |
3,525 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 2 | Robin Williams |
2,690 | Already exempt[c] |
| 3 | Louis Albertse |
2,412 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 4 | Neil Schietekat |
2,283 | |
| 5 | Darren Fichardt |
1,915 |
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Robin Williams |
[9][6] |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b CHA − Challenge Tour; EUR − European Tour.
- ^ Williams was already exempt due to finishing inside the Top 114 of the 2024 Race to Dubai as a non-member.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Sunshine Tour tees of new season in Africa". SuperSport. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Refurbished Lusaka Golf Club course re-opened". The Lusaka Times. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "The Courier Guy now delivering greatness with the Sunshine Tour". Sunshine Tour. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "2023/24 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "2023/24 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Broomhead wins on a day celebrating Sunshine Tour excellence". SuperSport. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
The tournament also finalised the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy. Ryan van Velzen finished first here in a breakthrough season where he won twice. His triumph saw him secure a DP World Tour card... Robin Williams finished second on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy and also earned himself a DP World Tour card as well as a R200 000 bonus. Williams was also crowned the Fortress Rookie of the Year, earning a R200 000 bonus... Louis Albertse finished the season in third place on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy thereby claiming the last DP World Tour card on offer...
- ^ Sunshine Tour [@Sunshine_Tour] (17 April 2024). "DP World Tour card secured 🔒" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final: Meet the field". European Tour. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
Robin Williams will tee it up on the DP World Tour next season following a stellar year. He won't play this week in Mallorca, but has already guaranteed Category 10 status for the 2024 Race to Dubai.
- ^ "2023/24 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 14 April 2024.