The 1987–88 Southern Africa Tour was the 17th season of the

Southern Africa Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

, the main

professional golf tour Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organised into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...

in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

Season outline

Local golfers from Zimbabwe and South African had success at the beginning of the season. At the first event, the Minolta Copiers Match Play, Zimbabwe's

Tony Johnstone Anthony Alastair Johnstone (born 2 May 1956) is a Zimbabwean professional golfer. Early life Johnstone was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia. He attended Christian Brothers College. Professional career In 1979, Johnstone turned professional and h ...

defeated countryman

Mark McNulty Mark William McNulty (born 24 March 1953) is a Zimbabwean-Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

66 to 69 in the

medal match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

final to claim victory. At the second tournament of the season, the Protea Assurance Classic, South Africa's

Bobby Lincoln Robert James "Bobby" Lincoln (born 8 September 1953) is a South African professional golfer who was a regular winner on the Southern African Tour from 1985 to 2000, and now plays on the European Seniors Tour. Lincoln played on the European Tou ...

defeated compatriot

Fulton Allem Fulton Peter Allem (born 15 September 1957) is a South African professional golfer. Allem was born in Kroonstad, Orange Free State (province), Orange Free State, South Africa, the middle child of five children and the grandson of a Lebanese peo ...

by one shot. The following week, Johnstone won for the second time, producing a victory at the Protea Assurance Challenge. The fourth event, Safmarine South African Masters, was won by South Africa's

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

. South Africa's John Bland was the champion the following week at the

Goodyear Classic The Goodyear Classic was a golf tournament on the South African Tour from the 1984 to 1992. It was generally held in December but in the 1989/1990 season it was held in February. The event was held at Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth, South A ...

. Allem won the fifth event of the season, the Palabora Classic. The following week, at the

ICL International The ICL International was a golf tournament in South Africa as part of the South African Tour. International stars like Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Nick Price won the event. The tournament was initially played at Kensington Golf Club in Johann ...

, defending champion Johnstone was victorious again. A number of overseas golfers had much success during the middle of the season. At the eighth tournament of the season, the

Lexington PGA Championship The South African PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. It is generally played in February, depending on the Tour Schedule, with a prize fund of 2 million rand, and is currently held at Eye of Afri ...

, Northern Irishman

David Feherty David William Feherty (born 13 August 1958) is a former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, competed at the Open Championship twice ( 1989 and 1994), and played on Europe ...

won, defeating fellow Irishman

Eamonn Darcy Eamonn Christopher Darcy (born 7 August 1952) is an Irish professional golfer. He won four times on the European Tour and played in the Ryder Cup four times. Professional career Darcy, with a handicap of 12, turned professional at the age of ...

by one shot. Darcy was the "tournament favourite" at the following event, the Southern Suns South African Open. He was in good position entering the final round, in third place, but was late to his tee time and was disqualified. Darcy's "absence took the pressure off" for South Africa's

Wayne Westner Wayne Brett Westner (28 September 1961 4 January 2017) was a South African golfer. He was twice winner of the South African Open and also won twice on the European Tour. In partnership with Ernie Els, they won the 1996 World Cup of Golf, played ...

, the overnight leader. With a final round 71, Westner won by two strokes over England's

Ian Mosey Ian James Mosey (born 29 August 1951) is an English professional golfer. Early life Mosey was born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, and is the son of cricket writer Don Mosey. Professional career Mosey turned professional in 1972 and spen ...

. South African

Jeff Hawkes Jeffrey Owen Hawkes (born 3 September 1953) is a South African professional golfer. Hawkes was born in Mthatha (then Umtata), Eastern Cape. In addition to his home in Bruma near Johannesburg, he also resides in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. H ...

won the next event, the

Bloemfontein Classic Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape Tow ...

, defeating American Jay Townsend by one shot. The following week was the Danglo Tournament Players Championship. The event was won by Englishman Mark James. It was first win in South Africa. Late in the season, at the

Helix Swazi Sun Classic The Investec Royal Swazi Open is a golf tournament on the Sunshine Tour. It was first played in 1971 and is played at the Royal Swazi Spa Country Club in the Ezulwini Valley, Eswatini. Since 2003, it has been played using a Modified Stableford Syst ...

, Americans

Don Levin Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

and

Alan Pate Alan Pate (born January 19, 1953) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Early life and amateur career Pate was born in Mobile, Alabama. He played college golf at the University of Alabama, whe ...

were tied at the end of regulation. Levin defeated Pate at the first playoff hole. The Order of Merit race ultimately came down to

and John Bland at the final event of the season, the

Trustbank Tournament of Champions The Trustbank Tournament of Champions was a professional golf tournament that was held in South Africa between 1985 and 1992. It was played at Kensington Golf Club in Johannesburg and was a fixture on the South African Tour, being the season ending ...

. Johnstone held a slight lead on the Order of Merit. Bland needed a top two finish at the event to defeat him. Bland opened with a 67 to take the joint lead. Johnstone also played well and was only one back. Bland followed with a 66 to take the solo lead by two over

with Johnstone now in joint third, three back. In the third round, Bland shot a 67 to extend his lead while Johnstone shot a 73 to fall out of contention. Bland shot a final round 68 to secure the win. Johnstone finished in solo fourth place at the event. Bland's win secured the Order of Merit title.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1987–88 season.

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Order of Merit

The

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in

South African rand The South African rand, or simply the rand, ( sign: R; code: ZAR) is the official currency of the Southern African Common Monetary Area: South Africa, Namibia (alongside the Namibian dollar), Lesotho (alongside the Lesotho loti) and Eswatini ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 Southern Africa Tour Sunshine Tour