2001–02 Sunshine Tour


The 2001–02 Sunshine Tour was the second season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was rebranded in 2000. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
There were 22 official events on the schedule. This was an decrease of one from the previous year, but there was a significant change in the list of tournaments.
There were eight tournaments from the previous season that were eliminated or not played:
There were seven tournaments added for this season:
The tour was based predominantly in South Africa, with 17 of the 22 official tournaments being held in the country. One event each was held in Botswana, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe and two in Zambia. Two events, the Dunhill Championship and the South African Airways Open were co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
The Order of Merit was won by Tim Clark.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2001–02 Sunshine Tour. As usual, the tour consisted of two distinct parts, commonly referred to as the "Summer Swing" and "Winter Swing". Tournaments held during the Summer Swing generally had much higher prize funds, attracted stronger fields, and were the only tournaments on the tour to carry world ranking points.
Prize funds shown did 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.
YearDatesTournamentVenue
Prize fund
WinnerNotesRef
20018–11 MarStanbic Zambia OpenLusaka Golf Club, Zambia275,000 Mark Foster
200116–18 MarCock of the NorthNdola Golf Club, Zambia100,000 Sean FarrellLast year of tournament
200129–31 MarFNB Botswana OpenGaborone Golf Club, Botswana125,000 Marc Cayeux
200120–22 AprRoyal Swazi Sun ClassicRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland100,000 Titch Moore New tournament
200110–12 MayPietersburg Industrelek ClassicPietersburg Golf Club100,000 Ryan Reid
20017–9 SepGoldfields Powerade ClassicOppenheimer Park Golf Club100,000 Callie Swart New tournament, only played in 2001
200111–13 SepBloemfontein ClassicSchoeman Park Golf Club100,000 André CruseNew tournament, first time played since 1995
200126–28 SepRandfontein ClassicRandfontein Country Club100,000 James Kingston New tournament, only played in 2001
20015–7 OctBearing Man Highveld ClassicWitbank Golf Club100,000 Justin Hobday
200110–12 OctAtlantic Beach ClassicAtlantic Beach Golf Club100,000 James Kingston New tournament, only played in 2001
200118–20 OctWestern Cape ClassicRondebosch Golf Club100,000 Lindani Ndwandwe Last year of tournament
200125–27 OctVodacom TrophyZwartkop Country Club100,000 Ulrich van den Berg New tournament
20018–10 NovGraceland ChallengeGraceland Country Club100,000 Warren Abery New tournament, only played in 2001
200116–18 NovPlatinum ClassicMooi Nooi Golf Club225,000 Roger Wessels
200122–25 NovCABS/Old Mutual Zimbabwe OpenChapman Golf Club, Zimbabwe450,000 Darren Fichardt Last year of tournament until 2010
20017–9 DecVodacom Players ChampionshipRoyal Cape Golf Club800,000 Ernie Els
200210–13 JanBell's South African Open ChampionshipDurban Country Club4,250,000 Tim Clark Co-sanctioned with European Tour
200217–20 JanDunhill ChampionshipHoughton Golf Club3,500,000 Justin Rose Co-sanctioned with European Tour
200224–27 JanTelkom PGA ChampionshipWoodhill Country Club475,000 Chris Williams
200231 Jan – 3 FebDimension Data Better BallGary Player Country Club110,000 André CruseUnofficial tournament
200231 Jan – 3 FebDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player Country Club1,250,000 Retief Goosen
20027–10 FebNashua MastersWild Coast Sun Country Club500,000 Justin Rose
200214–17 FebThe Tour ChampionshipLeopard Creek Country Club1,100,000 Nicholas Lawrence

Order of Merit