2016–17 Sunshine Tour
The 2016–17 Sunshine Tour was the 17th season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000, and the 10th since the tour switched a calendar based season in 2007. It marked a return to a multi-year schedule, the first since the 2006–07 Sunshine Tour season, and ended in March 2017. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
| Duration | 7 January 2016 – 5 March 2017 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 31 |
| Most wins | 3: Jaco Ahlers |
| Order of Merit | Brandon Stone |
| Rookie of the Year | Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
← 2015 2017–18 → | |
The tour is based predominantly in South Africa with other events being held in neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia and Mauritius.
Schedule
The table below shows the schedule of events for the 2016–17 Sunshine Tour season.
Prize funds shown do 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.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Other tours[lower-alpha 1] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan | BMW SA Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 | Brandon Stone (2) |
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 17 Jan | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 16,500,000 | Haydn Porteous (1) |
19 | EUR | |
| 14 Feb | Tshwane Open | Gauteng | 18,500,000 | Charl Schwartzel (9) |
19 | EUR | |
| 21 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 5,000,000 | George Coetzee (8) |
14 | ||
| 28 Feb | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Gauteng | 1,200,000 | Jaco van Zyl (14) |
14 | ||
| 12 Mar | Investec Cup | North West | 10,000,000 | Haydn Porteous (2) |
n/a | ||
| 17 Apr | Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 1,800,000 | Lyle Rowe (2) |
14 | ||
| 24 Apr | Zambia Sugar Open | Zambia | 1,500,000 |  Christofer Blomstrand (1) |
14 | ||
| 7 May | Investec Royal Swazi Open | Swaziland | 1,400,000 | Titch Moore (10) |
14 | ||
| 15 May | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 |  Wang Jeung-hun (n/a) |
17 | ASA, EUR | |
| 22 May | Lombard Insurance Classic | Swaziland | 1,200,000 | Merrick Bremner (5) |
4 | ||
| 5 Jun | KCM Zambia Open | Zambia | 2,000,000 | Jaco Ahlers (4) |
14 | ||
| 30 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Wild Coast Sun | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 |  Madalitso Muthiya (1) |
4 | ||
| 6 Aug | Sun City Challenge | North West | 700,000 | Oliver Bekker (4) |
7 | ||
| 20 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella | Western Cape | 700,000 | Vaughn Groenewald (5) |
4 | ||
| 26 Aug | Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Jaco Ahlers (5) |
4 | ||
| 10 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen | Northern Cape | 700,000 | Jacques Blaauw (4) |
4 | ||
| 23 Sep | Sun Carnival City Challenge | Gauteng | 700,000 | Ruan de Smidt (3) |
4 | New tournament | |
| 1 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Simola | Western Cape | 700,000 | Justin Harding (5) |
4 | ||
| 8 Oct | Sun Boardwalk Challenge | Eastern Cape | 700,000 | Ruan de Smidt (4) |
4 | ||
| 14 Oct | Sun Fish River Challenge | Eastern Cape | 700,000 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1) |
4 | ||
| 22 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Euphoria | Gauteng | 700,000 | Jaco Ahlers (6) |
7 | ||
| 28 Oct | Sun Sibaya Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 700,000 | Peter Karmis (3) |
7 | ||
| 5 Nov | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Eastern Cape | 700,000 |  Mark Williams (1) |
4 | ||
| 27 Nov | Lion of Africa Cape Town Open | Western Cape | 1,500,000 | Jacques Kruyswijk (1) |
14 | ||
| 4 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,200,000 | Brandon Stone (3) |
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 15 Jan | BMW SA Open | Gauteng | 15,000,000 |  Graeme Storm (n/a) |
26 | EUR | |
| 12 Feb | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Erik van Rooyen (1) |
14 | ||
| 19 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 5,050,000 |  Paul Lawrie (n/a) |
14 | ||
| 26 Feb | Joburg Open | Gauteng | 16,500,000 | Darren Fichardt (15) |
19 | EUR | |
| 5 Mar | Tshwane Open | Gauteng | 18,500,000 | Dean Burmester (7) |
19 | EUR |
Order of Merit
This shows the final Order of Merit leaders.
| Rank | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Stone | 7,384,889 |
| 2 | Dean Burmester | 5,955,793 |
| 3 | Darren Fichardt | 3,303,541 |
| 4 | Haydn Porteous | 3,277,711 |
| 5 | Zander Lombard | 3,021,640 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Christiaan Bezuidenhout |
Notes
- ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.