The 1997–98 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1997–98 Vodacom Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Vodacom title sponsorship In June 1997, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with Vodacom, being renamed as the Vodacom Tour. The agreement was reported to be worth over five years.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1997–98 season.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(R)WinnerOWGRpointsOthertoursNotes 12 Apr Kalahari Classic Northern Cape 75,000 Sean Pappas (3) n/a 27 Jun Vodacom Series (Eastern Cape) Eastern Cape 150,000 Des Terblanche (4) n/a New tournament series 5 Jul Bosveld Classic Limpopo 80,000 Desvonde Botes (2) n/a 12 Jul Vodacom Series (Mpumalanga) Mpumalanga 150,000 Robbie Stewart (1) n/a 26 Jul Trustbank Gauteng Classic Gauteng 120,000 Bradford Vaughan (1) n/a 9 Aug Vodacom Series (Gauteng) Gauteng 150,000 John Nelson (1) n/a 30 Aug FNB Botswana Open Botswana 150,000 Nasho Kamungeremu (1) n/a New tournament 13 Sep FNB Namibia Open Namibia 150,000 Wallie Coetsee (1) n/a New tournament 21 Sep Bearing Man Highveld Classic Mpumalanga 75,000 Darren Fichardt (1) n/a 11 Oct Vodacom Series (Free State) Free State 150,000 Dean van Staden (1) n/a 18 Oct Vodacom Series (Western Cape) Western Cape 150,000 Desvonde Botes (3) n/a 25 Oct Vodacom Series (KwaZulu-Natal) KwaZulu-Natal 150,000 Grant Muller (1) n/a 1 Nov Lombard Tyres Classic Gauteng 120,000 Andrew McLardy (1) n/a 16 Nov Leopard Rock Classic Zimbabwe 100,000 Adilson da Silva (1) n/a 23 Nov Zambia Open Zambia 250,000 James Loughnane (1) n/a 30 Nov Zimbabwe Open Zimbabwe 400,000 Nick Price (10) 20 14 Dec Mycom Mafunyane Trophy Limpopo 200,000 Kevin Stone (3) n/a 17 Jan Platinum Classic North West 100,000 Desvonde Botes (4) n/a 1 Feb Nashua Wild Coast Sun Challenge Western Cape 500,000 Adilson da Silva (2) 14 8 Feb South African Open KwaZulu-Natal £450,000 Ernie Els (10) 30 EUR 15 Feb Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship Gauteng £400,000 Tony Johnstone (17) 36 EUR 22 Feb Dimension Data Pro-Am North West 1,900,000 Nick Price (11) 18 Pro-Am 28 Feb Stenham Royal Swazi Sun Open Swaziland 500,000 Paul Friedlander (2) 12 8 Mar Vodacom Players Championship Gauteng 1,000,000 Mark McNulty (28) 14
Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(R)WinnerOWGRpointsNotes7 DecNedbank Million Dollar ChallengeNorth WestUS$2,500,000 Nick Price44Limited-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 589,0532 Tony Johnstone 553,3273 Scott Dunlap 368,3784 Marco Gortana 289,0625 Nic Henning 277,552
Awards AwardWinner Rookie of the Year (Bobby Locke Trophy) Richard Fulford
Notes
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