1981–82 Southern Africa Tour

1981–82 Southern Africa Tour season
Duration25 November 1981 (1981-11-25) – 19 February 1982 (1982-02-19)
Number of official events9
Most winsZimbabwe Mark McNulty (4)
Order of MeritZimbabwe Mark McNulty

The 1981–82 Southern Africa Tour was the 11th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

Season outline

The early season was dominated by veteran Gary Player who won the top two events, the Datsun South African Open and the Lexington PGA Championship. The remainder of the season belonged to Mark McNulty who won the next three events and secured the Order of Merit by a wide margin.

South African legend Gary Player had much success early in the season. At the second event, the Datsun South African Open, England's Warren Humphreys, John Bland and Player tied at 272 at the end of regulation.[1] An 18-hole playoff took place to decide the champion. Player and Bland scored rounds of 70 to beat Humphreys by two strokes. Player then won with a birdie on the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat Bland.[2] At the following event, the Lexington PGA Championship, Player overcame a four stroke 54-hole deficit, shooting a two-under-par 68 against strong winds to win again. "I am incredibly happy to win the PGA after taking the SA Open earlier this year," he said after the event.[3]

Mark McNulty dominated the remainder of the season. In late January, though he "struggled" during the final round, he still won the SAB South African Masters by two shots over Denis Watson.[4] The following week, he overcame a six stroke deficit to defeat Tienie Britz by one at the Sharp Electronics Open.[5] For the third successive week, McNulty won again, this time at the Sun City Classic, defeating John Bland by one shot.[6] McNulty ultimately won the Order of Merit by a wide margin.[7]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1981–82 season.[8]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R) 		Winner[a] Notes
28 Nov ICL International Transvaal 50,000 South Africa Simon Hobday (4)
5 Dec Datsun South African Open Transvaal 85,000 South Africa Gary Player (19)
9 Jan SISA Classic Natal 50,000 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty (3) New tournament
16 Jan Lexington PGA Championship Transvaal 100,000 South Africa Gary Player (20)
23 Jan SAB South African Masters Cape 100,000 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty (4)
30 Jan Sharp Electronics Open Transvaal 100,000 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty (5) New tournament
6 Feb Sun City Classic Transvaal 100,000 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty (6)
13 Feb Sigma Vaal Reefs Open Transvaal 40,000 Zimbabwe Nick Price (3)
19 Feb Holiday Inns Pro-Am Transvaal 40,000 Zimbabwe Denis Watson (2) Pro-Am

Unofficial events

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 Notes
3 Jan Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge Transvaal US$1,000,000 United States Johnny Miller Limited-field event

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[7]

Position Player Prize money (R)
1 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty 67,054
2 Zimbabwe Denis Watson 38,512
3 Gary Player 38,286
4 South Africa John Bland 36,866
5 Zimbabwe Nick Price 28,920

Notes

  1. ^ 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

  1. ^ "Thomson shifts to political stance". Sunday Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 6 December 1981. p. 37. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Sudden-death win makes it lucky 13". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 7 December 1981. p. 40. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Top class Player is home and dry". Sunday Sun. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. 17 January 1982. p. 40. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "McNulty holds 2-stroke lead in SAB tournament". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 24 January 1982. p. 36. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "More success for McNulty". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 1 February 1982. p. 22. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sport around the world". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 8 February 1982. p. 26. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  8. ^ "1981/82 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 20 September 2023.