2002–03 Sunshine Tour

The 2002–03 Sunshine Tour was the third 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 15 official events on the schedule. This was an decrease of eight from the previous year, and represents the fewest in the 15 seasons that Sunshine Tour has existed. There were eight tournaments from the previous season that were eliminated: the Goldfields Powerade Classic, the Bloemfontein Classic, the Randfontein Classic, the Atlantic Beach Classic, the Western Cape Classic, the Graceland Challenge, Cock of the North (Zambia), and the CABS/Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open (which resumed in 2010). One new tournament was added: the Royal Swazi Sun Classic. The tour was based predominantly in South Africa, with 11 of the 15 official tournaments being held in the country. Two events were held in Swaziland, and one event each was held in Botswana and 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 Trevor Immelman.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2002–03 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.

Year Dates Tournament Venue
(RSA unless stated)		 Prize fund
(R)		 Winner Notes Ref
200221–24 FebCapital Alliance Royal Swazi Sun OpenRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland275,000South Africa Andrew McLardy (3)[1]
20027–10 MarStanbic Zambia OpenLusaka Golf Club, Zambia450,000Zimbabwe Marc Cayeux (5)Co-sanctioned with Challenge Tour[2]
200221–23 MarFNB Botswana OpenGaborone Golf Club, Botswana200,000South Africa Hendrik Buhrmann (6)[3]
20029–11 MayLimpopo Industrelek ClassicPietersburg Golf Club125,000South Africa Hennie Otto (3)[4]
200217–19 MayRoyal Swazi Sun ClassicRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland100,000South Africa James Kingston (7)Returning tournament after one year hiatus[5]
200226–28 SepVodacom Golf ClassicRoyal JHB & Kensington G.C125,000South Africa Ashley Roestoff (10)Last year of tournament[6]
20024–6 OctBearing Man Highveld ClassicWitbank Golf Club125,000South Africa Titch Moore (3)[7]
20021–3 NovPlatinum ClassicMooi Nooi Golf Club300,000South Africa Titch Moore (4)[8]
200214–17 NovTelkom PGA ChampionshipWoodhill Country Club650,000South Africa Michiel Bothma (1)[9]
200221–24 NovNashua MastersWild Coast Sun Country Club500,000South Africa Hennie Otto (4)[10]
20025–8 DecVodacom Players ChampionshipRoyal Cape Golf Club1,000,000Zimbabwe Mark McNulty (33)Last year of tournament[11]
20039–12 JanSouth African Airways OpenErinvale Golf Club3,000,000South Africa Trevor Immelman (2)Co-sanctioned with European Tour[12]
200316–19 JanDunhill ChampionshipHoughton Golf Club2,500,000England Mark FosterCo-sanctioned with European Tour[13]
200323–26 JanDimension Data Better-BallGary Player Country Club100,000South Africa Hennie OttoUnofficial tournament
Last year of tournament		[14]
200323–26 JanDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player Country Club1,000,000South Africa Trevor Immelman (3)[15]
200330 Jan – 2 FebThe Tour ChampionshipLeopard Creek Country Club1,200,000South Africa Hennie Otto (5)[16]

Order of Merit

RankPlayer[17]CountryEventsPrize money (R)
1Trevor Immelman South Africa42,044,279.45
2Mark Foster England41,110,935.00
3Hennie Otto South Africa10877,118.15
4Bradford Vaughan South Africa13854,746.01
5Mark McNulty Zimbabwe7580,960.42

References

  1. ↑ Capital Alliance Royal Swazi Sun Open results
  2. ↑ Stanbic Zambia Open results
  3. ↑ FNB Botswana Open results
  4. ↑ Limpopo Industrelek Classic results
  5. ↑ Royal Swazi Sun Classic results
  6. ↑ Vodacom Golf Classic results
  7. ↑ Bearing Man Highveld Classic results
  8. ↑ Platinum Classic results
  9. ↑ Telkom PGA Championship results
  10. ↑ Nashua Masters results
  11. ↑ Vodacom Players Championship results
  12. ↑ South African Airways Open results
  13. ↑ Dunhill Championship results
  14. ↑ Dimension Data Better Ball results
  15. ↑ Dimension Data Pro-Am results
  16. ↑ The Tour Championship results
  17. ↑ "2002/2003 Final Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. 2003-02-02. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
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