2012 Sunshine Tour
The 2012 Sunshine Tour was the 13th 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 | 5 January 2012 – 16 December 2012 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26 |
| Most wins | 3: Jake Roos Trevor Fisher Jnr |
| Order of Merit | Branden Grace |
| Rookie of the Year | Daniel van Tonder |
← 2011 2013 → | |
As usual, the tour consisted of two distinct parts, commonly referred to as the "Summer Swing" and the "Winter Swing". Tournaments held during the Summer Swing generally had much higher prize funds, attracted stronger fields and until 2012 were the only tournaments on the tour to carry world ranking points, with some events being co-sanctioned with the European Tour.
The season marked the introduction of all Sunshine Tour tournaments awarding Official World Golf Ranking points, with the "Winter Swing" 72-hole events having a minimum of 6 points and the 54-hole events having a minimum of 4 points, compared with the 14 point minimum for the "Summer Swing" events.[1]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2012 season.[2]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[lower-alpha 1] | OWGR points |
Other tours[lower-alpha 2] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jan | Africa Open | Eastern Cape | €1,000,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (7) |
20 | EUR | |
| 15 Jan | Joburg Open | Gauteng | €1,300,000 | Branden Grace (2) |
22 | EUR | |
| 19 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Western Cape | 3,200,000 | Oliver Bekker (2) |
14 | Pro-Am | |
| 26 Feb | Telkom PGA Championship | Gauteng | 3,500,000 | Keith Horne (5) |
14 | ||
| 24 Mar | Platinum Classic | North West | 500,000 | Jake Roos (3) |
4 | ||
| 22 Apr | Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 1,250,000 | Chris Swanepoel (3) |
6 | ||
| 5 May | Investec Royal Swazi Open | Swaziland | 1,000,000 | Christiaan Basson (2) |
6 | ||
| 11 May | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Simola | Eastern Cape | 600,000 |  Ryan Cairns (1) |
8 | ||
| 26 May | Sun City Challenge | North West | 550,000 | Bryce Easton (1) |
4 | ||
| 3 Jun | Lombard Insurance Classic | Swaziland | 900,000 | Jake Roos (4) |
4 | ||
| 8 Jun | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Zebula | Limpopo | 600,000 | Bryce Easton (2) |
4 | ||
| 17 Jun | Zambia Open | Zambia | 1,200,000 | Justin Harding (3) |
6 | ||
| 27 Jul | Vodacom Origins of Golf at De Zalze | Western Cape | 600,000 | Allan Versfeld (1) |
6 | ||
| 24 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne Park | KwaZulu-Natal | 600,000 |  Adilson da Silva (10) |
4 | ||
| 31 Aug | Wild Waves Golf Challenge | KwaZulu-Natal | 600,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (5) |
4 | New tournament | |
| 7 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen | Northern Cape | 600,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (6) |
4 | ||
| 28 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Western Cape | 600,000 | Branden Grace (3) |
10 | ||
| 21 Oct | BMG Classic | Gauteng | 600,000 | Teboho Sefatsa (1) |
4 | ||
| 27 Oct | Suncoast Classic | KwaZulu-Natal | 600,000 | Ruan de Smidt (1) |
6 | ||
| 4 Nov | ISPS Handa Match Play Championship | Gauteng | 2,000,000 |  Doug McGuigan (6) |
14 | New tournament | |
| 8 Nov | Nedbank Affinity Cup | North West | 650,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (7) |
4 | ||
| 18 Nov | SA Open Championship | Gauteng | €1,000,000 |  Henrik Stenson (n/a) |
32 | EUR | Flagship event |
| 25 Nov | Lion of Africa Cape Town Open | Western Cape | 2,000,000 | Jake Roos (5) |
14 | New tournament | |
| 2 Dec | Nedbank Golf Challenge | North West | US$5,000,000 |  Martin Kaymer (n/a) |
30 | Limited-field event | |
| 9 Dec | Nelson Mandela Championship | KwaZulu-Natal | €1,300,000 | Scott Jamieson (n/a) |
20 | EUR | New tournament |
| 16 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,500,000 | Charl Schwartzel (6) |
28 | EUR |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[3]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Branden Grace | 2,760,319 |
| 2 | George Coetzee | 1,930,565 |
| 3 | Jaco van Zyl | 1,655,987 |
| 4 | Trevor Fisher Jnr | 1,502,093 |
| 5 | Tjaart van der Walt | 1,464,182 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Daniel van Tonder | [4][5] |
Notes
- 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.
- EUR − European Tour.
References
- "Official World Golf Ranking Board Announces Adjustments To Ranking System". Official World Golf Ranking. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- "2012 Sunshine Tour schedule". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- "2012 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- "2012 Rookie of the Year". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- Winter, Grant (17 December 2012). "Grace is walking on Sunshine after dream 2012". The Mercury. South Africa. Retrieved 18 April 2023 – via Pressreader.