2003–04 Sunshine Tour

The 2003–04 Sunshine Tour was the fourth 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 17 tournaments on the schedule. This was an increase of one from the previous year. There were three tournaments from the previous season that were eliminated: the Dimension Data Better-Ball tournament, the Vodacom Golf Classic, and the Vodacom Players Championship. Three new tournaments were added: the Canon Classic (played in 2003 only), the Devondale Championship (played in 2003 only), and the Parmalat Classic. The tour was based predominantly in South Africa, with 13 of the 17 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 Darren Fichardt.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2003–04 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
20036–8 MarStanbic Zambia OpenLusaka Golf Club, Zambia500,000 Johan EdforsNot played again until 2006
Co-sanctioned with Challenge Tour		[1]
200327–29 MarFNB Botswana OpenPhakalane GC, Botswana150,000 Trevor Fisher Jnr (1)[2]
20039–10 MayLimpopo Industrelek ClassicPietersburg Golf Club175,000 Marc Cayeux (6)[3]
200316–18 MayCapital Alliance Royal Swazi Sun OpenRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland175,000 Des Terblanche (11)[4]
200328–30 MayDevonvale ChampionshipDevonvale Conf & Golf Estate100,000 Hendrik Buhrmann (7)Only year of this tournament[5]
20035–7 JunCanon ClassicBramble Hill GC, Fancourt100,000 Tyrol AuretOnly year of this tournament[6]
200320–22 JunRoyal Swazi Sun ClassicRoyal Swazi Sun Country Club, Swaziland100,000 Nic Henning (2)[7]
200325–27 JunParmalat ClassicSilver Lakes Golf Club100,000 Desvonde Botes (10)New tournament[8]
20032–4 OctSeekers Travel Pro-AmDainfern Country Club100,000 Chris Williams (9)New tournament[9]
200310–12 OctBearing Man Highveld ClassicWitbank Golf Club100,000 Dion Fourie[10]
200330 Oct – 1 NovPlatinum ClassicMooinooi Golf Club300,000 Doug McGuigan (1)[11]
200415–18 JanSouth African Airways OpenErinvale Golf Club2,650,000 Trevor Immelman (4)Flagship event
Co-sanctioned with European Tour		[12]
200422–25 JanDunhill ChampionshipHoughton Golf Club3,100,000 Marcel SiemCo-sanctioned with European Tour[13]
200429 Jan – 1 FebDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player Country Club1,000,000 Darren Fichardt (4)[14]
20045–8 FebNashua MastersWild Coast Sun Country Club500,000 Andrew McLardy (4)[15]
200412–15 FebTelkom PGA ChampionshipWoodhill Country Club600,000 Warrick Druian (2)[16]
200419–22 FebThe Tour ChampionshipLeopard Creek Country Club1,200,000 Andrew McLardy (5)Tour Championship[17]

Order of Merit
RankPlayer[18]CountryEventsPrize money (R)
1Darren Fichardt South Africa6726,544.74
2Andrew McLardy South Africa7617,278.20
3Desvonde Botes South Africa16457,265.25
4Louis Oosthuizen South Africa8381,729.03
5Titch Moore South Africa10368,709.76

References
  1. Stanbic Zambia Open results
  2. FNB Botswana Open results
  3. Limpopo Industrelek Classic results
  4. Capital Alliance Royal Swazi Sun Open results
  5. Devonvale Championship results
  6. Canon Classic results
  7. Royal Swazi Sun Classic results
  8. Parmalat Classic results
  9. Seekers Travel Pro-Am results
  10. Bearing Man Highveld Classic results
  11. Platinum Classic results
  12. South African Airways Open results
  13. Dunhill Championship results
  14. Dimension Data Pro-Am results
  15. Nashua Masters results
  16. Telkom PGA Championship results
  17. The Tour Championship results
  18. "2003/2004 Final Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. 2004-02-22. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
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