2017–18 Sunshine Tour
Golf tour season
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The 2017–18 Sunshine Tour was the 47th season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Duration20 April 2017 – 18 March 2018
Number of official events26
Most wins
Oliver Bekker (3)
Oliver Bekker (3)Order of Merit George Coetzee
George Coetzee| Duration | 20 April 2017 – 18 March 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26 |
| Most wins | Oliver Bekker (3) |
| Order of Merit | George Coetzee |
| Players' Player of the Year | Oliver Bekker |
| Rookie of the Year |  Neil O'Briain |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2017–18 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 1,800,000 | J. C. Ritchie (1) |
14 | ||
| 30 Apr | Zambia Sugar Open | Zambia | 1,600,000 | Oliver Bekker (5) |
14 | ||
| 6 May | Investec Royal Swazi Open | Swaziland | 1,200,000 | Peter Karmis (4) |
14 | ||
| 21 May | Lombard Insurance Classic | Swaziland | 1,000,000 | Oliver Bekker (6) |
4 | ||
| 4 Jun | Mopani Redpath Zambia Open | Zambia | US$150,000 | Riekus Nortje (1) |
14 | ||
| 29 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Highland Gate | Mpumalanga | 750,000 |  Doug McGuigan (7) |
7 | ||
| 4 Aug | Sun City Challenge | North West | 750,000 | Peter Karmis (5) |
7 | ||
| 11 Aug | Sun Carnival City Challenge | Gauteng | 750,000 | Jbe' Kruger (4) |
4 | ||
| 19 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella | Western Cape | 750,000 | Keith Horne (9) |
4 | ||
| 25 Aug | Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 750,000 | Oliver Bekker (7) |
4 | ||
| 2 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zimbali | KwaZulu-Natal | 750,000 | Jared Harvey (1) |
4 | ||
| 8 Sep | Sun Fish River Challenge | Eastern Cape | 750,000 | M. J. Viljoen (1) |
4 | ||
| 15 Sep | Sun Boardwalk Challenge | Eastern Cape | 750,000 | Tyrone Ryan (1) |
4 | ||
| 23 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at St Francis | Eastern Cape | 750,000 | Doug McGuigan (8) |
4 | ||
| 14 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen | Northern Cape | 750,000 | Hennie du Plessis (1) |
4 | ||
| 27 Oct | Sun Sibaya Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 750,000 | Alex Haindl (2) |
4 | ||
| 4 Nov | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Western Cape | 750,000 | Jaco Prinsloo (1) |
4 | ||
| 3 Dec | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 | Dylan Frittelli (1) |
17 | ASA, EUR | |
| 11 Dec | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 16,500,000 |  Shubhankar Sharma (n/a) |
17 | ASA, EUR | |
| 14 Jan | BMW SA Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 |  Chris Paisley (n/a) |
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 1 Feb | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 |  Matías Calderón (1) |
14 | ||
| 18 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 5,050,000 | Jaco Ahlers (7) |
14 | Pro-Am | |
| 25 Feb | Cape Town Open | Western Cape | 1,500,000 |  Rhys Enoch (1) |
14 | ||
| 4 Mar | Tshwane Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 | George Coetzee (9) |
19 | EUR | |
| 7 Mar | Steyn City Team Championship | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Hennie du Plessis (2) and Jean Hugo (18) |
n/a | New team event | |
| 18 Mar | The Tour Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Darren Fichardt (16) |
14 | Tour Championship |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[2][3]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Coetzee | 2,937,226 |
| 2 | Erik van Rooyen | 2,359,847 |
| 3 | J. C. Ritchie | 2,033,965 |
| 4 | Oliver Bekker | 1,562,989 |
| 5 | Ockie Strydom | 1,415,499 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Year | Oliver Bekker | [3] |
| Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Neil O'Briain | [4][5] |
See also
Notes
- 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.
- ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.