1978–79 Southern Africa Tour
The 1978–79 Southern Africa Tour was the eighth season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 1 November 1978 – 7 February 1979 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 8 |
| Most wins | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Dale Hayes (2) Simon Hobday (2) |
| Order of Merit | Hugh Baiocchi |
← 1977–78 1979–80 → | |
Season outline
Simon Hobday was the top player early in the year. In the inaugural event, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters, Hobday was victorious.[1] The following event, the Victoria Falls Classic, was also held in Rhodesia, being played in the middle of the Rhodesian Bush War. Hobday tried to recruit a number of top European players to play in the event but was not successful.[2] He went on the win the event.[3]
Dale Hayes, Hugh Baiocchi, and Tienie Britz were the top players later in the season. In the third event, the ICL International, Hayes defeated Baiocchi in a playoff. At the next event, the Lexington PGA Championship; Hale Irwin was victorious.[4] At the following tournament, Baiocchi won the Yellow Pages South African Open by one shot.[5] At the subsequent event, the Kronenbrau Masters, Hayes defeated Tienie Britz in a playoff.[6] Britz won the Kalahari Classic the week after.[7]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1978–79 season.[8]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov | Rhodesian Dunlop Masters | Rhodesia | 18,000 | Simon Hobday (1) | |
| 11 Nov | Victoria Falls Classic | Rhodesia | 35,000 | Simon Hobday (2) | |
| 18 Nov | ICL International | Transvaal | 35,000 | Dale Hayes (12) | |
| 2 Dec | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 50,000 |  Hale Irwin (n/a) | |
| 9 Dec | Yellow Pages South African Open | Cape | 45,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (7) | |
| 15 Dec | Kronenbrau Masters | Cape | 30,000 | Dale Hayes (13) | |
| 14 Jan | Kalahari Classic | Botswana | 18,000 | Tienie Britz (3) | New tournament |
| 7 Feb | Holiday Inns Open | Swaziland | 20,000 | John Bland (4) |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[9]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugh Baiocchi | 19,804 |
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Southern Africa Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Southern Africa Tour members.
References
- "1978 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- "Golfers out to brave course with teeth". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 8 November 1978. p. 34. Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Steel, Donald (12 November 1978). "World-wide harvest". The Sunday Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Irwin by one". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 4 December 1978. p. 27. Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- "Graham rallies for victory in Mexico Cup golf". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Canada. 11 December 1978. p. 38. Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
South African Open
- "Sport in brief". The Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, United Kingdom. 16 December 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 12 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
Dale Hayes won the Cape Open Golf Tournament in a sudden death play-off...
- "1979 Kalahari Classic". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- "1978/79 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.