2006–07 Sunshine Tour
| Duration | 16 March 2006 – 25 February 2007 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 27 |
| Most wins |  Jean Hugo (3) |
| Order of Merit | Charl Schwartzel |
| Rookie of the Year | Rossouw Loubser |
← 2005–06 2007 → | |
The 2006–07 Sunshine Tour was the 36th season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 2006–07 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Mar | Stanbic Zambia Open | Zambia | 750,000 | Steve Basson (2) |
n/a | ||
| 21 Apr | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella | Western Cape | 360,000 | Jean Hugo (3) |
n/a | ||
| 29 Apr | SAA Pro-Am Invitational (1st) | Western Cape | 350,000 | Jean Hugo (4) |
n/a | New tournament series | |
| 6 May | Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open | Swaziland | 550,000 | Thomas Aiken (6) |
n/a | ||
| 13 May | Suncoast Classic | KwaZulu-Natal | 350,000 | Alex Haindl (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 20 May | SAA Pro-Am Invitational (2nd) | Gauteng | 350,000 |  Tongoona Charamba (1) |
n/a | ||
| 26 May | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Pretoria | Gauteng | 360,000 | Vaughn Groenewald (1) |
n/a | ||
| 30 Jun | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne | KwaZulu-Natal | 360,000 | Rossouw Loubser (1) |
n/a | ||
| 18 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Bloemfontein | Free State | 360,000 | Rossouw Loubser (2) |
n/a | ||
| 25 Aug | Telkom PGA Pro-Am | Gauteng | 330,000 |  Doug McGuigan (2) |
n/a | ||
| 2 Sep | Eskom Power Cup | North West | 350,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (2) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 15 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Pezula | Western Cape | 360,000 | Kevin Stone (4) |
n/a | ||
| 30 Sep | Seekers Travel Pro-Am | Gauteng | 350,000 | Desvonde Botes (12) |
n/a | ||
| 6 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Western Cape | 360,000 | Darren Fichardt (5) |
n/a | ||
| 15 Oct | Bearing Man Highveld Classic | Mpumalanga | 400,000 | Darren Fichardt (6) |
n/a | ||
| 21 Oct | MTC Namibia PGA Championship | Namibia | 600,000 | Anton Haig (2) |
n/a | ||
| 28 Oct | Platinum Classic | North West | 600,000 | Vaughn Groenewald (2) |
n/a | ||
| 19 Nov | Limpopo Classic | Limpopo | 1,000,000 | Bradford Vaughan (8) |
12 | ||
| 23 Nov | Coca-Cola Charity Championship | Western Cape | 500,000 | Alan Michell (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 3 Dec | Nedbank Golf Challenge | North West | US$4,385,000 |  Jim Furyk (n/a) |
38 | New to Sunshine Tour Limited-field event | |
| 10 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,000,000 |  Álvaro Quirós (n/a) |
18 | EUR | |
| 17 Dec | South African Airways Open | Eastern Cape | €1,000,000 | Ernie Els (14) |
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 14 Jan | Joburg Open | Gauteng | €1,000,000 |  Ariel Cañete (n/a) |
20 | EUR | New tournament |
| 28 Jan | Dimension Data Pro-Am | North West | 1,600,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (2) |
14 | Pro-Am | |
| 4 Feb | Nashua Masters | Eastern Cape | 1,200,000 | Jean Hugo (5) |
14 | ||
| 18 Feb | Vodacom Championship | Gauteng | 2,200,000 | Richard Sterne (2) |
14 | ||
| 25 Feb | Telkom PGA Championship | Gauteng | 2,250,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (3) |
14 |
Unofficial events
[edit]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[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Nov | HSBC Champions | China | US$5,000,000 |  Yang Yong-eun
|
52 | ANZ,[c] ASA,[d] EUR | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
[edit]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 | Charl Schwartzel |
1,585,117 |
| 2 | Louis Oosthuizen |
1,314,739 |
| 3 | Hennie Otto |
1,274,340 |
| 4 | Andrew McLardy |
1,239,926 |
| 5 | Darren Fichardt |
1,160,182 |
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Rossouw Loubser |
[4] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ a b ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
- ^ PGA Tour of Australasia unofficial event
- ^ Asian Tour unofficial event
References
[edit]- ^ "2006/07 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "2006/07 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "Oosthuizen clinches Telkom Championship". Independent Online. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
Schwartzel's finish was good enough to see him win the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit a third successive time...
- ^ "Nearly-man Mordt aiming for title". Independent Online. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
In 2006 Rossouw Loubser became the oldest winner on the series when at the age of 44 he claimed the KwaZulu-Natal tournament, which was also his maiden victory and played a part in him being voted the Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year.