1981–82_Southern_Africa_Tour
1981–82 Southern Africa Tour
Golf tour season
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.
| Duration | 25 November 1981 (1981-11-25) – 19 February 1982 (1982-02-19) |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 9 |
| Most wins |  Mark McNulty (4) |
| Order of Merit | Mark McNulty |
← 1980–81 1982–83 → | |
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]
The following table lists official events during the 1981–82 season.[8]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Nov | ICL International | Transvaal | 50,000 |  Simon Hobday (4) | |
| 5 Dec | Datsun South African Open | Transvaal | 85,000 | Gary Player (19) | |
| 9 Jan | SISA Classic | Natal | 50,000 | Mark McNulty (3) | New tournament |
| 16 Jan | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 100,000 |  Gary Player (20) | |
| 23 Jan | SAB South African Masters | Cape | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (4) | |
| 30 Jan | Sharp Electronics Open | Transvaal | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (5) | New tournament |
| 6 Feb | Sun City Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (6) | |
| 13 Feb | Sigma Vaal Reefs Open | Transvaal | 40,000 | Nick Price (3) | |
| 19 Feb | Holiday Inns Pro-Am | Transvaal | 40,000 | 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 |  Johnny Miller |
Limited-field event |
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 | Mark McNulty | 67,054 |
| 2 | Denis Watson | 38,512 |
| 3 | Gary Player | 38,286 |
| 4 | John Bland | 36,866 |
| 5 | Nick Price | 28,920 |
- "Thomson shifts to political stance". Sunday Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 6 December 1981. p. 37. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "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.
- "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.
- "McNulty holds 2-stroke lead in SAB tournament". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 24 January 1982. p. 36. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "More success for McNulty". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 1 February 1982. p. 22. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Sport around the world". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 8 February 1982. p. 26. Retrieved 17 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- "1981/82 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 20 September 2023.