2001–02 Sunshine Tour

The 2001–02 Sunshine Tour was the second 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.

2001–02 Sunshine Tour season
DurationMarch 8, 2001 (2001-03-08) – February 17, 2002 (2002-02-17)
Number of official events23
Most wins2 (tie):
James Kingston
Justin Rose
The Order of Merit Tim Clark

There were 22 official events on the schedule. This was an decrease of one from the previous year, but there was a significant change in the list of tournaments.

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

  • Riviera Resort Classic
  • Vodacom Series: Eastern Cape
  • Vodacom Series: Gauteng
  • Emfuleni Classic
  • Ernie Els Invitational
  • Observatory Classic
  • Lombard Tyres Classic
  • Royal Swazi Sun Open (which resumed in 2003)

There were seven tournaments added for this season:

  • Goldfields Powerade Classic (played in 2001 only)
  • Blomfontein Classic (first time played since 1995; not played after this season)
  • Randfontein Classic (played in 2001 only)
  • Atlantic Beach Classic (played in 2001 only)
  • Graceland Challenge (played in 2001 only)
  • Vodacom Trophy (played one more time, as the Vodacom Golf Classic in 2002)
  • Royal Swazi Sun Classic (played 2001–04)

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 in 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 Tim Clark.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2001–02 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
20018–11 MarStanbic Zambia OpenLusaka Golf Club, Zambia275,000 Mark FosterCo-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour[1]
200116–18 MarCock of the NorthNdola Golf Club, Zambia100,000 Sean FarrellLast year of tournament[2]
200129–31 MarFNB Botswana OpenGaborone Golf Club, Botswana125,000 Marc Cayeux (4)[3]
200120–22 AprRoyal Swazi Sun ClassicRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland100,000 Titch Moore (2)New tournament[4]
200110–12 MayPietersburg Industrelek ClassicPietersburg Golf Club100,000 Ryan Reid[5]
20017–9 SepGoldfields Powerade ClassicOppenheimer Park Golf Club100,000 Callie Swart (2)New tournament, only played in 2001[6]
200111–13 SepBloemfontein ClassicSchoeman Park Golf Club100,000 André CruseNew tournament, first time played since 1995[7]
200126–28 SepRandfontein ClassicRandfontein Country Club100,000 James Kingston (4)New tournament, only played in 2001[8]
20015–7 OctBearing Man Highveld ClassicWitbank Golf Club100,000 Justin Hobday (6)[9]
200110–12 OctAtlantic Beach ClassicAtlantic Beach Golf Club100,000 James Kingston (5)New tournament, only played in 2001[10]
200118–20 OctWestern Cape ClassicRondebosch Golf Club100,000 Lindani Ndwandwe (1)Last year of tournament[11]
200125–27 OctVodacom TrophyZwartkop Country Club100,000 Ulrich van den Berg (2)New tournament[12]
20018–10 NovGraceland ChallengeGraceland Country Club100,000 Warren Abery (2)New tournament, only played in 2001[13]
200116–18 NovPlatinum ClassicMooi Nooi Golf Club225,000 Roger Wessels (9)[14]
200122–25 NovCABS/Old Mutual Zimbabwe OpenChapman Golf Club, Zimbabwe450,000 Darren Fichardt (3)Last year of tournament until 2010[15]
20017–9 DecVodacom Players ChampionshipRoyal Cape Golf Club800,000 Ernie Els (15)[16]
200210–13 JanBell's South African OpenDurban Country Club4,250,000 Tim Clark (1)Flagship event
Co-sanctioned with European Tour		[17]
200217–20 JanDunhill ChampionshipHoughton Golf Club3,500,000 Justin Rose (1)Co-sanctioned with European Tour[18]
200224–27 JanTelkom PGA ChampionshipWoodhill Country Club475,000 Chris Williams (9)[19]
200231 Jan – 3 FebDimension Data Better BallGary Player Country Club110,000 André CruseUnofficial tournament[20]
200231 Jan – 3 FebDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player Country Club1,250,000 Retief Goosen (4)[21]
20027–10 FebNashua MastersWild Coast Sun Country Club500,000 Justin Rose (2)[22]
200214–17 FebThe Tour ChampionshipLeopard Creek Country Club1,100,000 Nicholas LawrenceTour Championship[23]

Order of Merit
RankPlayer[24]CountryEventsPrize money (R)
1Tim Clark South Africa71,669,900.71
2Justin Rose England41,476,005.60
3Retief Goosen South Africa41,364,977.34
4Martin Maritz South Africa81,042,806.00
5James Kingston South Africa10706,234.01

References
  1. Stanbic Zambia Open results
  2. Cock Of The North results
  3. FNB Botswana Open results
  4. Royal Swazi Sun Classic results
  5. Pietersburg Industrelek Classic results
  6. Goldfields Powerade Classic results
  7. Bloemfontein Classic results
  8. Randfontein Classic results
  9. Bearing Man Highveld Classic results
  10. Atlantic Beach Classic results
  11. Western Cape Classic results
  12. Vodacom Trophy results
  13. Graceland Challenge results
  14. Platinum Classic results
  15. CABS/Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open results
  16. Vodacom Players Championship results
  17. Bell's South African Open Championship results
  18. Dunhill Championship results
  19. Telkom PGA Championship results
  20. Dimension Data Better Ball results
  21. Dimension Data Pro-Am results
  22. Nashua Masters results
  23. The Tour Championship results
  24. "2001/2002 Final Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. 2002-02-17. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
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