1994–95 Southern Africa Tour
The 1994–95 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1994–95 FNB Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 24th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 17 November 1994 – 19 February 1995 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 9 |
| Most wins | Ernie Els (2) |
| Order of Merit | Ernie Els |
← 1993–94 1995–96 → | |
It was the third season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with First National Bank, that began in 1992.[1]
Changes for 1994–95
For the first time, the European Tour ventured into Southern Africa, co-sanctioning their first event with the Southern Africa Tour; the Lexington South African PGA Championship.[2]
Season outline
South African star Ernie Els had a chance to win several events at the beginning of the season. At the second event, the Nashua Wild Coast Sun Challenge, Els was in contention but bogeyed the 70th hole and followed it up with a double bogey. South Africa's Hendrik Buhrmann secured the title.[3] The following week, at the unofficial Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge, Els again had a chance to win; he was one behind leader Nick Faldo early on the back nine. However, similar to the previous week, Els struggled on Sunday's back nine, recording a double-bogey on the 13th and a bogey on the next to end his chances. He finished five behind champion Faldo.[4] Els, however, would go on to win the following event, Bell's Cup.[5]
In the middle of the season, a number of little known American golfers had success. At the fourth tournament of the year, the FNB Players Championship, American Ron Whittaker was the champion by six strokes.[6] The following week was the ICL International; South African Ashley Roestoff was the champion.[7] American Michael Christie finished runner-up.[8] The sixth tournament was the Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic. American Brad Ott birdied five of the last eight holes to "squeeze" by and defeat South Africa's Richard Kaplan and England's Chris Davison by a shot.[9] In early February, at the Telkom South African Masters, American Scott Dunlap defeated Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty at the first sudden death playoff hole.[10]
Late in the season, however, it was again Els who dominated. At the penultimate event, the Phillips South African Open, he recorded a solo runner-up placing, finishing only behind Retief Goosen.[11] At the final tournament, the Lexington PGA Championship, Els started the final round two shots behind but birdied four of the first seven holes to take the lead. He ultimately won by two. According to the Daily Post, the victory went towards "confirming his status as the best young golfer in the world."[12] Els won the Order of Merit easily.[13]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1994–95 season.[14][15]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[lower-alpha 1] | OWGR points |
Other tours[lower-alpha 2] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Nov | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 350,000 | Chris Williams (3) | 14 | ||
| 27 Nov | Nashua Wild Coast Sun Challenge | Western Cape | 750,000 | Hendrik Buhrmann (1) | 20 | New tournament | |
| 8 Jan | Bell's Cup | Western Cape | 600,000 | Ernie Els (7) | 22 | ||
| 15 Jan | FNB Players Championship | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Ron Whittaker (1) | 18 | ||
| 22 Jan | ICL International | Gauteng | 550,000 | Ashley Roestoff (1) | 16 | ||
| 29 Jan | Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic | Swaziland | 450,000 | Brad Ott (1) | 12 | ||
| 5 Feb | Telkom South African Masters | North West | 700,000 | Scott Dunlap (1) | 16 | ||
| 12 Feb | Phillips South African Open | Gauteng | 650,000 | Retief Goosen (3) | 22 | ||
| 19 Feb | Lexington South African PGA Championship | Gauteng | £250,000 | Ernie Els (8) | 30 | EUR |
Unofficial events
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 | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Dec | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | North West | US$2,500,000 | Nick Faldo | 52 | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[13][15]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Els | 460,488 |
| 2 | Mark McNulty | 258,149 |
| 3 | Hendrik Buhrmann | 215,335 |
| 4 | Roger Wessels | 213,254 |
| 5 | Retief Goosen | 166,863 |
Notes
- 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.
- EUR − European Tour.
References
- Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- Davies, David (16 February 1995). "Europe goes to Els". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. p. 20. Retrieved 8 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Today's Sports Briefing". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- Mair, Lewine (5 December 1994). "Faldo holds off pack to finish season in style". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- "Els captures Bell's Cup". The Herald-Palladium. 9 January 1995. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- "Golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 1995. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- Williams, Michael (23 January 1995). "Couples bravura earns European breakthrough". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- "Sports Briefs". The State. 27 January 1995. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- "Final round flop". Evening Post. 31 January 1995. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- "Scoreboard". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 February 1995. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- Lancaster, Alex (13 February 1995). "Jacobsen makes it two in a row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- Garrod, Mark (20 February 1995). "Ernie thrives on his local knowledge". Daily Post: The Paper for Wales. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- "1994/95 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- "1994/95 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Williams, Michael (1996). The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook 1996. Macmillan. p. 111. ISBN 0333653319. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via Archive.org.