1984–85 Southern Africa Tour
| Duration | 12 December 1984 – 17 March 1985 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 10 |
| Most wins |  Mark McNulty (2) |
| Order of Merit | Mark McNulty |
← 1983–84 1985–86 → | |
The 1984–85 Southern Africa Tour was the 14th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Season outline[edit]
A variety of golfers from South Africa and Zimbabwe had success at the beginning of the season. At the first event, Safmarine South African Masters, Tony Johnstone defeated Fulton Allem in a playoff.[1] At the second event, the Goodyear Classic, John Bland birdied the final four holes of regulation and the first playoff hole to defeat Nick Price.[2] Price, however, won the following week at the ICL International.[3] Chris Williams and Gavan Levenson won the next two events.[4][5]
The remainder of the season was dominated by Mark McNulty. At the Swazi Sun Pro-Am he holed a 25 foot birdie putt on the final hole to defeat Simon Hobday by one shot.[6] The following week, at the AECI Charity Classic, Paul Way was victorious by five strokes.[7] The following week, at the Palaboro Classic, McNulty won in a playoff over Hugh Baiocchi.[8] McNulty would go to win the Order of Merit.[9]
Schedule[edit]
The following table lists official events during the 1984–85 season.[10]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Dec | Safmarine South African Masters | Cape | 100,000 | Tony Johnstone (3) |
|
| 22 Dec | Goodyear Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 |  John Bland (9) |
New tournament |
| 12 Jan | ICL International | Transvaal | 80,000 | Nick Price (4) |
|
| 19 Jan | Lexington PGA Championship | Transvaal | 110,000 | Chris Williams (1) |
|
| 26 Jan | South African Open | Natal | 100,000 | Gavan Levenson (3) |
|
| 2 Feb | Swazi Sun Pro-Am | Swaziland | 80,000 | Mark McNulty (8) |
Pro-Am |
| 9 Feb | AECI Charity Classic | Transvaal | 80,000 |  Paul Way (1) |
New tournament |
| 23 Feb | Palabora Classic | Transvaal | 100,000 | Mark McNulty (9) |
New tournament |
| 2 Mar | Trustbank Tournament of Champions | Transvaal | 100,000 | Simon Hobday (5) |
New tournament |
| 17 Mar | Wild Coast Classic | Cape | 100,000 | Ian Palmer (1) |
Unofficial events[edit]
The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) |
Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Dec | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | Transvaal | US$1,000,000 |  Seve Ballesteros
|
Limited-field event |
Order of Merit[edit]
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 | Mark McNulty |
57,750 |
| 2 | Simon Hobday |
42,040 |
| 3 | John Bland |
37,586 |
| 4 | Gavan Levenson |
32,792 |
| 5 | Phil Simmons |
28,977 |
Notes[edit]
- ^ 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[edit]
- ^ "Johnstone clinches Sunshine triumph". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 17 December 1984. p. 32. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Frederick, Adrian (24 December 1984). "Bland battles to classic win in late bust". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 18. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bennett 71". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. Grimsby, United Kingdom. 14 January 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "For Peete's sake". Evening Telegraph. Derby, United Kingdom. 21 January 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Levenson hits birdie rush". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 27 January 1985. p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Frederick, Adrian (4 February 1985). "McNulty clinches title with final stroke". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 30. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Victory for Way". Sunday Sun. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. 10 February 1985. p. 43. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "McNulty taken to play-off". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 25 February 1985. p. 26. Retrieved 27 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "1984/85 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 28 September 2023.