2000–01 Sunshine Tour

The 2000–01 Sunshine Tour was the first season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was rebranded. Previously it had been known as the Southern Africa Tour. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region. In its first year, the prize money was over 20% lower than the amount awarded the last year of the Africa Tour (R13.6 Million in 2000–01 vs. R17.5 Million in 1999–2000).

There were 22 official events on the schedule. This was an increase of five from the last year of the Southern Africa tour, with a significant change in the list of tournaments.

There were four tournaments from the previous season that were eliminated or not played:

  • Vodacom Series: Mpumalanga
  • Vodacom Series: Kwazulu-Natal
  • Vodacom Series: Free State
  • Royal Swazi Sun Classic (which resumed in 2001)

There were nine tournaments added/restarted for this season:

  • Riviera Resort Classic (played in 2000 only)
  • Emfuleni Classic (played in 2000 only)
  • Observatory Classic (played in 2000 only)
  • Cock of the North (first time played since 1985)
  • FNB Botswana Open (first time played since 1998)
  • Stanbic Zambia Open (first time played since 1998)
  • Nashua Nedtel Cellular Masters (first time played since 1999)
  • The Tour Championship (new tournament in 2001)
  • South African PGA Championship (first time played since 1999)

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 events were held in Zambia. Two events, the Dunhill Championship and the Mercedes Benz SA Open Championship were co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

The Order of Merit was won by Mark McNulty.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2000–01 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
200016–18 MarCock of the NorthNdola Golf Club, Zambia100,000 Titch Moore (1)Returning tournament after hiatus from 1986–99[1]
200023–26 MarStanbic Zambia OpenLusaka Golf Club, Zambia320,000 James LoughnaneReturning tournament after hiatus in 1999[2]
200030 Mar – 1 AprFNB Botswana OpenGaborone Golf Club, Botswana90,000 Richard Kaplan (4)Returning tournament after hiatus in 1999[3]
200012–14 AprLombard Tyres ClassicKrugersdorp Golf Club75,000 Brett Liddle (5)Last year of tournament[4]
20005–7 MayVodacom Series: GautengSilver Lakes Golf Club100,000 Nico van Rensburg (2)Last year of tournament[5]
200011–13 MayPietersburg ClassicPietersburg Golf Club75,000 Marc Cayeux (3)[6]
200026–28 MayVodacom Series: Eastern CapeEast London Golf Club100,000 Ryan ReidLast year of tournament[7]
200015–17 SepEmfuleni ClassicEmfuleni Golf Club100,000 Des Terblanche (5)New tournament, only played in 2000[8]
200029 Sep – 1 OctBearing Man Highveld ClassicWitbank Golf Club100,000 Sean Pappas (5)[9]
200013–15 OctObservatory ClassicObservatory Golf Club100,000 Roger Wessels (8)New tournament, only played in 2000[10]
200027–29 OctWestern Cape ClassicRondebosch Golf Club100,000 Jean Hugo (2)[11]
200010–12 NovPlatinum ClassicMooi Nooi Golf Club200,000 Desvonde Botes (9)[12]
200016–17 NovRiviera Resort ClassicRiviera Resort Country Club100,000 Ulrich van den Berg (1)New tournament, only played in 2000[13]
200023–26 NovCABS Old Mutual Zimbabwe OpenRoyal Harare Golf Club, Zimbabwe400,000 Mark McNulty (30)[14]
20007–10 DecVodacom Players ChampionshipRoyal Cape Golf Club1,000,000 Trevor Immelman (1)[15]
200111–14 JanNashua Nedtel Cellular MastersWild Coast Sun Country Club500,000 Mark McNulty (31)Returning tournament after hiatus in 2000[16]
200118–21 JanAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipHoughton Golf Club3,250,000 Adam ScottCo-sanctioned with European Tour[17]
200125–28 JanMercedes-Benz South African OpenEast London Golf Club3,800,000 Mark McNulty (32)Flagship event
Co-sanctioned with European Tour		[18]
20011–4 FebDimension Data Better BallGary Player Country Club110,000 Ulrich van den BergUnofficial tournament[19]
20011–4 FebDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player Country Club1,000,000 Darren Clarke[20]
20018–11 FebSouth African PGA ChampionshipWoodhill Country Club500,000 Deane Pappas (1)Returning tournament after hiatus in 2000[21]
200115–18 FebInvestec Royal Swazi Sun OpenRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland230,000 Bradford Vaughan (3)[22]
200122–25 FebThe Tour ChampionshipLeopard Creek Country Club1,250,000 Darren Fichardt (2)New tournament
Tour Championship		[23]

Order of Merit
RankPlayer[24]CountryEventsPrize money (R)
1Mark McNulty Zimbabwe61,603,481.36
2Bradford Vaughan South Africa18686,414.88
3Roger Wessels South Africa8632,383.40
4Hennie Otto South Africa12620,210.65
5Trevor Immelman South Africa10619,765.87

References
  1. Cock of the North results
  2. Stanbic Zambia Open results
  3. FNB Botswana Open results
  4. Lombard Tyres Classic results
  5. Vodacom Series: Gauteng results
  6. Pietersburg Classic results
  7. Vodacom Series: Eastern Cape results
  8. Emfuleni Classic results
  9. Bearing Man Highveld Classic results
  10. Observatory Classic results
  11. Western Cape Classic results
  12. Platinum Classic results
  13. Riviera Resort Classic results
  14. CABS Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open results
  15. Vodacom Players Championship results
  16. Nashua Nedtel Cellular Masters results
  17. Alfred Dunhill Championship results
  18. Mercedes Benz SA Open Championship results
  19. Dimension Data Better-Ball results
  20. Dimension Data Pro-Am results
  21. South African PGA Championship results
  22. Investec Royal Swazi Sun Open results
  23. The Tour Championship results
  24. "2000/2001 Final Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. 2001-02-25. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
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