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Safari Circuit

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Safari Circuit
SportGolf
Founded1970s
Ceasedc. 1993
CountriesBotswana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Related
competitions		European Tour
Challenge Tour
Sunshine Tour

The Safari Circuit, or Safari Tour, was a small professional golf tour based in West and East Africa that ran from the 1970s through into the 1990s.[1] From 1977, the tour was organised by the PGA European Tour[2][3] and from 1991 the tournaments were included on the second-tier Challenge Tour schedule.[4]

History

[edit]

The Safari Circuit developed in the late 1960s as British professionals sought to play some competitive tournament golf while working in Africa during the winter prior to the start of the tournament circuit in Great Britain and Ireland. Originally centred around a few tournaments in Kenya and Zambia, as it evolved the tour became known colloquially as the "safari circuit" or "safari tour". The Cock o' the North tournament at Ndola Golf Club in Ndola, Zambia had been held since 1954, being mostly patronised by players from Southern and Central Africa. When the Kenya Open was founded in 1967, followed by the Lusaka Open in 1969 and the Mufulira Open in 1970, attracting professionals from Great Britain and Ireland, the circuit began to form.[5]

In 1972, the Zambia Open was founded, which was initially hosted in rotation by the three existing tournament hosts (Lusaka, Mufulira, Ndola). In the mid-1970s, the Nigerian Open was also included with the circuit being split into legs in West and East Africa. There were many other smaller events surrounding the main tournaments, such as the Gambian and Liberian opens, and the Benin and Port Harcourt pro-ams in Nigeria.[6] In 1977, the British Professional Golfers' Association assumed control of the circuit and the number of Zambian events was reduced to two in order to accommodate the fledgling European Tour, which was starting earlier in the year. During this period the Ndola and Mufulira events alternated on the schedule, with Lusaka being held annually.[5] In the 1980s the Ivory Coast Open,[7] Kalahari Diamond Classic[8] (for one year only, in 1982) and Zimbabwe Open were added.[9] As a result, in 1986 the number of tournaments in Zambia was reduced to just one, the Zambia Open at Lusaka.[5]

With the PGA European Tour operating the circuit, tournament winners were rewarded with exemption on the main tour for that season.[9] The leading money winners were also granted exemption on the tour,[10] and until 1986 the Order of Merit winner was automatically qualified into The Open Championship.[11][12] In the mid-1980s the circuit suffered as local economies struggled, with prize-money payments from Ivory Coast and Nigerian tournaments being reduced and delayed, culminating in the removal of the East African legs in 1987.[13][14] As the European Tour schedule expanded further through the 1980s, the Safari Circuit became further squeezed, and the Nigerian and Ivory Coast opens were moved into December. In 1991 the five remaining tournaments were added to the new second-tier Challenge Tour schedule, although for a few years the "Safari Circuit" was still regarded as distinct tour.[15][16]

Tournaments

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Order of Merit winners

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Season Order of Merit winner Ref
1977 Mark James [17]
1978
1979 John Morgan [18]
1980 Brian Waites [19]
1981 Brian Barnes [20]
1982 David Jagger [21][22]
1983 Gordon J. Brand [23]
1984 Ewen Murray [24]
1985 Bill Longmuir [25]
1986 Gordon J. Brand [26]
1987 Gordon J. Brand [26]
1988 Vijay Singh [27]
1989 Vijay Singh [27]
1990

References

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  1. ^ Wang'ombe, Vincent. "Kenya Open history cluttered with great players". Daily Nation. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  3. ^ Charters, Michael (3 April 1986). "Safari venture no so rich for Morgan". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, England. p. 51. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ Charters, Michael (7 February 1991). "Safari so good!". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, England. p. 69. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b c Walubita, Moses Sayela (1990). Zambia Sporting Score. Multimedia Publications. p. 166. ISBN 9982300393 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Platts, Mitchell (10 January 1985). "Insuring early payment". The Times. London, England. p. 18. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  7. ^ "Off on Safari!". Newcastle Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 5 February 1981. p. 18. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Dobereiner, Peter (17 December 1981). "European prizes shooting up". The Guardian. London, England. p. 19. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Robertson, Ron (10 January 1985). "Scots on Safari for title defence". Aberdeen Evening Express. Aberdeen, Scotland. p. 14. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ Cooper, Matt (12 March 2019). "Golf365 History: Kenya Open revives memories of the Safari Tour". Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Open bonus for Safari winners". Reading Evening Post. Reading, England. 17 February 1983. p. 26. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Smith, Colm (16 January 1986). "Record cash and new format for the British Open". Irish Independent. Dublin, Ireland. p. 14. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ Davies, David (5 March 1987). "Brand of gold heads African money list". The Guardian. London, England. p. 29. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Martin, Paul (9 January 1987). "Perils in rough do not deter". The Times. p. 28. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  15. ^ Platts, Mitchell (19 February 1992). "European seniors tour attracts eight new events". The Times. London, England. p. 29. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  16. ^ Edmund, Nick (1993). Heineken World of Golf 93. Stanley Paul. p. 170. ISBN 0091781000 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Platts, Mitchell (6 April 1977). "James aims high". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. p. 22. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. ^ Charters, Michael (3 May 1979). "John tipped for Ryder Cup place". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, England. p. 23. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Waites is dynamite". Newcastle Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 24 May 1980. p. 33. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ "Zambian title for Barnes". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 30 March 1981. p. 18. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  21. ^ "Britain's David Jagger..." Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 5 April 1982. p. 16. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  22. ^ "Golf". The Guardian. London, England. 5 April 1982. p. 27. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Pargeter, John (21 March 1983). "Zambia title for USA". Newcastle Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, England. p. 12. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (26 March 1984). "Mason holds on despite a late dose of the wobbles". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. p. 13. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  25. ^ "Mackenzie hooks his way to victory". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 1 April 1985. p. 15. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  26. ^ a b "Brand bags top sport on Safari circuit". Dundee Courier. Dundee, Scotland. 10 March 1987. p. 11. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  27. ^ a b "Morgan likes to go on Safari...". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, England. 30 November 1989. p. 89. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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