1993–94 Southern Africa Tour
| Duration | 18 November 1993 – 13 February 1994 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 9 |
| Most wins |  Tony Johnstone (3) |
| Order of Merit | Tony Johnstone |
| Rookie of the Year |  Brenden Pappas |
← 1992–93 1994–95 → | |
The 1993–94 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1993–94 FNB Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 23rd season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
It was the second season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with First National Bank, that began in 1992.[1]
Season outline
[edit]Zimbabweans Mark McNulty, Tony Johnstone, and Nick Price had much success at the beginning of the season. McNulty won the first tournament of the year, the FNB Players Championship.[2] Johnstone then won two national opens early in the season, the Zimbabwe Open and Philips South African Open.[3] At the unofficial Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge, meanwhile, Price scored four rounds in the mid-60s to defeat runner-up McNulty by 12 strokes. "Without a doubt it's the finest four rounds of golf I've ever put together in my life," he said after the event.[4] Johnstone won the next event, the Bell's Cup. It was his fourth consecutive win on the Southern Africa Tour going back to last season. It tied Gary Player's winning streak.[5] The following week, at the Lexington PGA Championship, David Frost defeated runner-up Price by seven shots.[6] Days later, Price opened with an eleven-under 61 at the ICL International. He broke the course record at Zwartkop Country Club by three strokes and tied for the lowest round ever on the Southern Africa Tour.[7] Price would go to win by nine over Frost and American Bruce Vaughan. It was his third win at the event.[8]
A variety of little known overseas golfers had success over the remainder of the season. The seventh tournament, the Telkom South African Masters, was won by Englishman Chris Davison. It was first win on tour.[9] The following event, the Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic, was won by American Omar Uresti.[10] He defeated fellow American Andrew Pitts by two shots.[11] The final event of the season, the Autopage Mount Edgecombe Trophy, was won by American Bruce Vaughan.[12]
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 1993–94 season.[13][14]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Nov | FNB Players Championship | Transvaal | 550,000 | Mark McNulty (23) |
16 | |
| 28 Nov | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 300,000 | Tony Johnstone (14) |
22 | |
| 12 Dec | Phillips South African Open | Natal | 550,000 | Tony Johnstone (15) |
20 | |
| 9 Jan | Bell's Cup | Cape | 500,000 | Tony Johnstone (16) |
22 | |
| 16 Jan | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 550,000 | David Frost (4) |
30 | |
| 23 Jan | ICL International | Transvaal | 500,000 | Nick Price (6) |
26 | |
| 30 Jan | Telkom South African Masters | Transvaal | 500,000 |  Chris Davison (1) |
14 | |
| 6 Feb | Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Classic | Swaziland | 400,000 |  Omar Uresti (1) |
12 | |
| 13 Feb | Autopage Mount Edgecombe Trophy | Natal | 500,000 | Bruce Vaughan (1) |
16 |
Unofficial events
[edit]The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Dec | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | Transvaal | US$2,500,000 | Nick Price
|
48 | 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.[15]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Johnstone |
297,359 |
| 2 | Bruce Vaughan |
189,453 |
| 3 | Ernie Els |
160,410 |
| 4 | Chris Davison |
156,219 |
| 5 | Roger Wessels |
135,518 |
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Brenden Pappas |
[16] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Southern Africa Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Southern Africa Tour members.
References
[edit]- ^ Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 22 Nov 1993, page 36". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 13 Dec 1993, page 34". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "The Stuart News 06 Dec 1993, page 29". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ "Leicester Mercury 10 Jan 1994, page 37". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 17 Jan 1994, page 34". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "The Daily Telegraph 21 Jan 1994, page 37". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "The News and Observer 24 Jan 1994, page 35". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Leicester Mercury 31 Jan 1994, page 37". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Austin American-Statesman 07 Feb 1994, page 10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Leicester Mercury 07 Feb 1994, page 29". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Detroit Free Press 14 Feb 1994, page Page 21". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "1993/94 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ Williams, Michael (1995). The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook 1995. Macmillan. p. 110. ISBN 0333626818. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via Archive.org.
- ^ "1993/94 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "2007 Nationwide Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. 2007. p. 2-48. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
Brenden Pappas | Member of the Southern Africa Tour since 1994. Finished third on the Order of Merit in 1995-96. Named Rookie of the Year in 1993-94.