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.
Season outline 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. 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. 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.
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. The following week, he overcame a six stroke deficit to defeat Tienie Britz by one at the Sharp Electronics Open. For the third successive week, McNulty won again, this time at the Sun City Classic, defeating John Bland by one shot. McNulty ultimately won the Order of Merit by a wide margin.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1981–82 season.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(R)WinnerNotes 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.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(R)WinnerNotes3 JanNedbank Million Dollar ChallengeTransvaalUS$1,000,000 Johnny MillerLimited-field event
Order of Merit The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.
PositionPlayerPrize money (R)1 Mark McNulty 67,0542 Denis Watson 38,5123 Gary Player 38,2864 John Bland 36,8665 Nick Price 28,920
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