2017–18 Sunshine Tour
The 2017–18 Sunshine Tour was the 18th season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa-based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
| Duration | 20 April 2017 – 18 March 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26 |
| Most wins | 3: Oliver Bekker |
| Order of Merit | George Coetzee |
| Rookie of the Year |  Neil O'Briain |
← 2016–17 2018–19 → | |
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 2017–18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| 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 | |
| 6 Mar | Steyn City Team Championship | Gauteng | 1,000,000 | Hennie du Plessis (2) and Jean Hugo (18) |
n/a | New tournament Team event | |
| 18 Mar | The Tour Championship | Gauteng | 1,500,000 | Darren Fichardt (16) |
14 | Tour Championship |
Order of Merit
This shows the final Order of Merit leaders.
| Rank | 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. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Neil O'Briain | [1] |
Notes
- ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
References
- "Future is bright as O'Donovan wins Sunshine Tour card". Irishgolfer.ie. 5 Mar 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.