2023–24 Sunshine Tour

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.

2023–24 Sunshine Tour season
Duration4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) – 14 April 2024 (2024-04-14)
Number of official events31
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

Changes for 2023–24

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

The following table lists official events during the 2023–24 season.[4]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)
Winner[lower-alpha 1] OWGR
points
Other
tours[lower-alpha 2]
Notes
7 MayFBC Zim OpenZimbabwe2,200,000 Neil Schietekat (4)1.65
21 MayZanaco MastersZambia2,200,000 Robson Chinhoi (1)1.53
28 MayKit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-AmGauteng2,000,000 Louis Albertse (2)1.87Pro-Am
2 JunSunBet Challenge (Sun City)North West1,250,000 Hennie Otto (14)1.95
22 JulSunBet Challenge (Wild Coast)Western Cape2,000,000 CJ du Plessis (1)1.80
29 JulFNB Eswatini ChallengeEswatini2,000,000 Peter Karmis (7)1.39
13 AugVodacom Origins of Golf at ZebulaLimpopo2,000,000 Jacques Kruyswijk (3)2.06
18 AugSunBet Challenge (Time Square)Gauteng2,000,000 Malcolm Mitchell (1)2.37
27 AugBain's Whisky Ubunye ChampionshipGauteng2,000,000 Luca Filippi (1) and
Ryan van Velzen (2)
n/aTeam event
1 SepGary & Vivienne Player ChallengeMpumalanga2,000,000 Gerhard Pepler (1)1.65
17 SepVOG Western CapeWestern Cape2,000,000 Kyle Barker (2)1.64
23 SepPGA ChampionshipEastern Cape2,000,000 Rupert Kaminski (1)1.84
8 OctFortress InvitationalGauteng2,000,000 Robin Williams (1)1.46
14 OctBlue Label ChallengeNorth West2,700,000 Luca Filippi (2)1.63Pro-Am
22 OctVOG KZNKwaZulu-Natal2,000,000 Pieter Moolman (2)1.68
27 OctSunBet Challenge (Sun Sibaya)KwaZulu-Natal2,000,000 Martin Rohwer (4)1.80
5 NovVodacom Origins of Golf FinalWestern Cape2,000,000 Neil Schietekat (5)1.47
26 NovJoburg OpenGauteng20,500,000 Dean Burmester (9)11.95EUR
3 DecInvestec South African Open ChampionshipGautengUS$1,500,000 Dean Burmester (10)12.59EUR
11 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipMpumalanga€1,500,000 Louis Oosthuizen (9)14.07EUR
17 DecAfrAsia Bank Mauritius OpenMauritiusUS$1,200,000 Louis Oosthuizen (10)11.05EUR
28 JanMediclinic InvitationalGauteng2,000,000 Ryan van Velzen (3)2.46
4 FebSDC OpenGautengUS$350,000 Rhys Enoch (3)5.89CHA
11 FebBain's Whisky Cape Town OpenWestern CapeUS$350,000 Mikael Lindberg (n/a)6.40CHA
18 FebDimension Data Pro-AmWestern Cape7,000,000 David Ravetto (n/a)7.35CHA
25 FebNMB ChampionshipEastern CapeUS$350,000 Björn Åkesson (n/a)5.49CHA
3 MarSDC ChampionshipEastern CapeUS$1,500,000 Jordan Gumberg (n/a)13.81EUR
10 MarJonsson Workwear OpenGautengUS$1,500,000 Matteo Manassero (n/a)13.99EUR
24 MarStella Artois Players ChampionshipGauteng2,000,000 Heinrich Bruiners (2)2.87
7 AprLimpopo ChampionshipLimpopo2,000,000 Deon Germishuys (2)2.57
14 AprThe Tour ChampionshipGauteng2,000,000 Jonathan Broomhead (1)3.13Tour Championship

Unofficial events

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[lower-alpha 2]
Notes
26 Apr Altron Vusi Ngubeni Tournament Gauteng 100,000 Thabang Simon n/a

Order of Merit

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]

PositionPlayerPointsStatus earned
1 Ryan van Velzen3,525Promoted to European Tour
2 Robin Williams2,690
3 Louis Albertse2,412
4 Neil Schietekat2,283
5 Darren Fichardt1,915

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
Rookie of the Year Robin Williams[8][6]

See also

Notes

  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. CHA − Challenge Tour; EUR − European Tour.

References

  1. "Sunshine Tour tees of new season in Africa". SuperSport. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. "Refurbished Lusaka Golf Club course re-opened". The Lusaka Times. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. "The Courier Guy now delivering greatness with the Sunshine Tour". Sunshine Tour. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. "2023/24 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. "2023/24 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  6. "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...
  7. Sunshine Tour [@Sunshine_Tour] (17 April 2024). "DP World Tour card secured 🔒" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 April 2024 via Twitter.
  8. "2023/24 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
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