The 2008 Sunshine Tour was the 38th season of the Sunshine Tour (formerly the Southern Africa Tour), the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 10 January 2008 – 21 December 2008 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 30 |
| Most wins |  Richard Sterne (3) |
| Order of Merit | Richard Sterne |
| Rookie of the Year | Louis Moolman |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 2008 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan | Joburg Open | Gauteng | €1,100,000 | Richard Sterne (3)
|
20 | EUR | |
| 27 Jan | Dimension Data Pro-Am | North West | 1,800,000 | James Kamte (2)
|
14 | Pro-Am | |
| 3 Feb | Nashua Masters | Eastern Cape | 1,200,000 |  Marc Cayeux (9)
|
14 | ||
| 10 Feb | Africa Open | Eastern Cape | 1,200,000 | Shaun Norris (1)
|
14 | New tournament | |
| 17 Feb | Vodacom Championship | Gauteng | 2,400,000 | James Kingston (8)
|
14 | ||
| 24 Feb | Telkom PGA Championship | Gauteng | 2,500,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (5)
|
14 | ||
| 2 Mar | Mount Edgecombe Trophy | KwaZulu-Natal | 500,000 | Mark Murless (4)
|
n/a | ||
| 30 Mar | Chainama Hills Zambia Open | Zambia | 750,000 | Tyrone Ferreira (1)
|
n/a | ||
| 4 Apr | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Bloemfontein | Free State | 440,000 | Dion Fourie (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 25 Apr | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Pretoria | Gauteng | 440,000 | Tyrone van Aswegen (1)
|
n/a | ||
| 10 May | Samsung Royal Swazi Sun Open | Swaziland | 700,000 | Jean Hugo (6)
|
n/a | ||
| 17 May | Nashua Golf Challenge | North West | 500,000 | Keith Horne (3)
|
n/a | ||
| 30 May | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne | KwaZulu-Natal | 440,000 | Jean Hugo (7)
|
n/a | ||
| 8 Jun | Lombard Insurance Classic | Swaziland | 400,000 | Merrick Bremner (1)
|
n/a | ||
| 23 Aug | SAA Pro-Am Invitational | Western Cape | 500,000 | George Coetzee (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 29 Aug | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Arabella | Western Cape | 440,000 | Garth Mulroy (1)
|
n/a | ||
| 5 Sep | Telkom PGA Pro-Am | Gauteng | 400,000 | Merrick Bremner (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 13 Sep | Suncoast Classic | KwaZulu-Natal | 500,000 | Jake Roos (1)
|
n/a | ||
| 19 Sep | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Humewood | Eastern Cape | 440,000 | George Coetzee (3)
|
n/a | ||
| 4 Oct | Seekers Travel Pro-Am | Gauteng | 440,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (3)
|
n/a | ||
| 12 Oct | BMG Classic | Gauteng | 500,000 |  Doug McGuigan (3)
|
n/a | New tournament | |
| 19 Oct | Metmar Highveld Classic | Mpumalanga | 600,000 | James Kamte (3)
|
n/a | ||
| 24 Oct | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | Western Cape | 440,000 | Jaco van Zyl (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 1 Nov | Platinum Classic | North West | 705,000 | Thomas Aiken (7)
|
n/a | ||
| 9 Nov | MTC Namibia PGA Championship | Namibia | 1,000,000 | Tongoona Charamba (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 27 Nov | Coca-Cola Charity Championship | Western Cape | 550,000 | Garth Mulroy (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 3 Dec | Nedbank Affinity Cup | North West | 550,000 | Tyrone van Aswegen (2)
|
n/a | ||
| 7 Dec | Nedbank Golf Challenge | North West | US$4,385,000 |  Henrik Stenson (n/a)
|
34 | Limited-field event | |
| 14 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Mpumalanga | €1,000,000 | Richard Sterne (4)
|
24 | EUR | |
| 21 Dec | South African Open Championship | Western Cape | €1,000,000 | Richard Sterne (5)
|
40 | EUR | Flagship event |
Unofficial events
editThe following events were sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov | HSBC Champions | China | US$5,000,000 |  Sergio García
|
52 | ANZ,[c] ASA,[d] EUR | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
editThe Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[2][3]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Sterne |
5,999,265 |
| 2 | Garth Mulroy |
1,442,351 |
| 3 | Thomas Aiken |
967,378 |
| 4 | Mark Murless |
885,056 |
| 5 | James Kingston |
775,903 |
Awards
edit| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) | Louis Moolman |
[4] |
Notes
edit- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Sunshine Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.
- ^ a b ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour.
- ^ PGA Tour of Australasia unofficial event
- ^ Asian Tour unofficial event
References
edit- ^ "2008 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "2008 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ Winter, Grant (22 December 2008). "Sterne proves he's a true diamond". Independent Online. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
That win at Leopard Creek, incidentally, sealed 2008 Sunshine Order of Merit honours for him with earnings of just over R3.8-million. Now he's added a further R2.15-million, bringing his seasons earnings to almost R6-million.
- ^ "Louis Moolman". European Tour. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
The same year, he won the Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year award following ten top 20 finishes.