2012 Sunshine Tour


The 2012 Sunshine Tour is the 13th season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000, and the 6th since the tour switched a calendar based season in 2007. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
The tour is based predominantly in South Africa with other events being held in neighbouring countries, including Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia and Namibia.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2012 Sunshine Tour season. As usual, the tour consists of two distinct parts, commonly referred to as the "Summer Swing" and the "Winter Swing". Tournaments held during the Summer Swing generally have much higher prize funds, attract 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. Since the tour switched to a calendar based season, this part of the tour has been split in two, with some events being held at the start of the year, and the remainder in November and December. Beginning in 2012, all events will carry world 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.
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.
DatesTournamentLocation
Prize fundWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
5–8 JanAfrica OpenEast London, Eastern Cape€1,000,000 Louis Oosthuizen 20Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
12–15 JanJoburg OpenJohannesburg, Gauteng€1,300,000 Branden Grace 22Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
16–19 FebDimension Data Pro-AmGeorge, Western CapeR3,200,000 Oliver Bekker 14
22–26 FebTelkom PGA ChampionshipJohannesburg, GautengR3,500,000 Keith Horne 14
22–24 MarPlatinum ClassicNorth WestR500,000 Jake Roos 4
19–22 AprGolden Pilsener Zimbabwe OpenHarare, ZimbabweR1,250,000 Chris Swanepoel 6
2–5 MayInvestec Royal Swazi OpenSwazilandR1,000,000 Christiaan Basson 6
9–11 MayVodacom Origins of Golf Eastern CapeR600,000 Ryan Cairns 8
24–26 MaySun City ChallengeSun City, North WestR550,000 Bryce Easton 4
1–3 JunLombard Insurance ClassicSwazilandR900,000 Jake Roos 4
6–8 JunVodacom Origins of Golf LimpopoR600,000 Bryce Easton 4
14–17 JunZambia OpenZambiaR1,200,000 Justin Harding 6
26–28 JulVodacom Origins of Golf Western CapeR600,000 Allan Versfeld 6
22–24 AugVodacom Origins of Golf Kwazulu-NatalR600,000 Adilson da Silva 4
29–31 AugWild Waves Golf ChallengeKwazulu-NatalR600,000 Trevor Fisher Jnr 4
5–7 SepVodacom Origins of Golf Northern CapeR600,000 Trevor Fisher Jnr 4
26–28 SepVodacom Origins of Golf FinalGeorge, Western CapeR600,000 Branden Grace 10
19–21 OctBMG ClassicJohannesburg, GautengR600,000 Teboho Sefatsa 4
25–27 OctSun Coast ClassicKwazulu-NatalR600,000 Ruan de Smidt 6
30 Oct – 4 NovISPS Handa Match Play ChampionshipJohannesburg, GautengR2,000,000 Doug McGuigan 14
6–8 NovNedbank Affinity CupNorth WestR650,000 Trevor Fisher Jnr 4
15–18 NovSouth African OpenJohannesburg, Gauteng€1,000,000 Henrik Stenson 32Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
22–25 NovLion of Africa Cape Town OpenWestern CapeR2,000,000 Jake Roos 14
23–25 NovGary Player InvitationalKwaZulu-NatalR250,000 Team Clark n/a
29 Nov – 2 DecNedbank Golf ChallengeSun City, North WestUS$5,000,000 Martin Kaymer 30
6–9 DecThe Nelson Mandela ChampionshipKwaZulu-Natal€1,300,000 Scott Jamieson 20Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
13–16 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipLimpopo€1,500,000 Charl Schwartzel 28Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Order of Merit

This shows the final Order of Merit leaders.
RankPlayerPrize money
1 Branden Grace2,760,319
2 George Coetzee1,930,565
3 Jaco van Zyl1,655,987
4 Trevor Fisher Jnr1,502,093
5 Tjaart van der Walt1,464,182

Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen did not play the minimum number of tournaments required to be ranked.