2020–21 Sunshine Tour

The 2020–21 Sunshine Tour was the 21st season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa-based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000. The Sunshine Tour represented the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.

The tour was based predominantly in South Africa with other events being held in Eswatini, Zambia, Mauritius and Kenya.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour announced a suspension on 16 March.[1] Later, the first two scheduled tournaments, the Investec Royal Swazi Open and the Zambia Open, were postponed. On 5 August, the tour announced its resumption, starting in mid-August with a new series of five 54-hole tournaments, called the "Rise Up Series".[2]

In January 2021, the schedule was once again disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as several tournaments scheduled for early in the year were postponed by a month or more, with the season restarting in March. Among the tournaments affected were three co-sanctioned events with the Challenge Tour.[3]

Schedule

The table below shows the revised schedule of events for the 2020–21 Sunshine Tour season following the tour's suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Prize funds shown did not count directly towards the Order of Merit. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of official money Sunshine Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.

Dates Tournament Location Prize fund
(R)		 Winner OWGR
points		 Notes
19–21 Aug Betway Championship Johannesburg, Gauteng 600,000 Darren Fichardt (18) 7 Rise Up Series
26–28 Aug The African Bank Sunshine Tour Championship Johannesburg, Gauteng 600,000 Daniel van Tonder (4) 7 Rise Up Series
2–4 Sep Titleist Championship Pretoria, Gauteng 600,000 George Coetzee (11) 7 Rise Up Series
23–25 Sep Vodacom Championship Unlocked Boksburg, Gauteng 600,000 Daniel van Tonder (5) 4 Rise Up Series
30 Sep – 2 Oct Vodacom Championship Reloaded Johannesburg, Gauteng 600,000 Daniel van Tonder (6) 4 Rise Up Series
21–23 Oct Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal 700,000 Merrick Bremner (7) 4
28–31 Oct Investec Royal Swazi Open Sun City, North West 1,500,000 Daniel van Tonder (7) 14
4–6 Nov Time Square Casino Challenge Pretoria, Gauteng 700,000 Ruan Korb (1) 7
19–22 Nov Joburg Open Johannesburg, Gauteng 19,500,000 Joachim B. Hansen (n/a) 19 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour
26–29 Nov Alfred Dunhill Championship Malelane, Mpumalanga 29,000,000 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (3) 32 Flagship event
Co-sanctioned with the European Tour
3–6 Dec South African Open Sun City, North West 19,500,000 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (4) 19 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour

    Original schedule

    The table below shows the schedule of early season tournaments as announced prior to the tour's suspension in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Dates Tournament Location Prize fund
    (R)    		 Notes
    6–9 May Investec Royal Swazi Open Eswatini 1,500,000
    14–17 May Zambia Open Zambia 2,000,000
    22–24 May Lombard Insurance Classic Kleinmond, Western Cape 1,250,000
    3–5 Jun Sun City Challenge Sun City, North West 1,000,000
    23–25 Jul Vodacom Origins (Western Cape) Western Cape 1,000,000
    29–31 Jul Royal Swazi Spa Challenge Eswatini 1,000,000
    5–7 Aug FNB Eswatini Nkonyeni Sunshine Tour Golf Challenge Eswatini 1,000,000 New tournament
    13–16 Aug Zimbabwe Open Zimbabwe 1,500,000
    20–23 Aug Zanaco Masters Zambia 2,200,000
    27–29 Jul Vodacom Origins (Central) TBC 1,000,000
    3–5 Sep King's Cup Eswatini 1,000,000
    10–13 Sep KCB Karen Masters Kenya 2,200,000
    17–19 Sep Vodacom Origins (Eastern Cape) Eastern Cape 1,000,000
    23–25 Sep Sun Boardwalk Challenge Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 1,000,000
    30 Sep – 2 Oct Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000
    8–10 Oct Vodacom Origins (KwaZulu-Natal) KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000
    21–23 Oct Sibaya Challenge Durban, KwaZulu-Natal 1,000,000
    5–7 Nov Vodacom Origins of Golf Final TBC 1,000,000

      Order of Merit

      This shows the final Order of Merit leaders.

      RankPlayerPrize money (R)
      1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout7,789,088
      2 Joachim B. Hansen3,277,475
      3 Wilco Nienaber2,681,740
      4 Jayden Schaper2,170,478
      5 Shaun Norris1,183,904

      Full list

      References
      1. "Sunshine Tour suspends all activities". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
      2. "Sunshine Tour announces return with new Rise-Up Series". SuperSport. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
      3. "Sunshine Tour postpones start of 2021 schedule until March". News24. 13 January 2021.
      4. "2020/21 Season – Tournament Schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
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