1975–76 Southern Africa Tour season
Duration26 November 1975 (1975-11-26) – 15 February 1976 (1976-02-15)
Number of official events9[lower-alpha 1]
Most winsSouth Africa Dale Hayes (3)
South Africa Allan Henning (3)
Order of MeritSouth Africa Allan Henning
← 1974–75

The 1975–76 Southern Africa Tour was the fifth season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

Season outline

The season was dominated by Dale Hayes and Allan Henning who won the majority of the events. Hayes started the season excellently, winning the first two events. However, Henning won the Datsun International and NCR Western Province Open to close in on the Order of Merit race. Hayes won the flagship event, the BP South African Open, but Henning won the season's final event, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters, to capture Order of Merit honors.

The first tournament of the season was the Beck's PGA Championship at Wanderers Golf Club. There was a 36-hole finale due to a rainout on Friday. Hayes shot a 62 (−8) in the third round which "virtually assured" that he would be victorious.[1] He it described as his best round ever.[2] The round broke the course recorded by three shots. Hayes followed it up with a three-under-par 67 to defeat Henning, the solo runner-up, by six shots.[1] Hayes won the following event, the Holiday Inns Open, as well, defeating John Fourie in a playoff.[3]

Henning won the fourth official tournament of the season, the Datsun International, while Hayes finished runner-up.[4] The next week, at the ICL International, Hayes and Henning finished joint runner-up, one behind England's Peter Townsend.[5] Henning then won the next event, the NCR Western Province Open.[6] In late January, Hayes tied John Fourie at the end of regulation at the BP South African Open.[7] Like earlier in the season, Hayes again defeated Fourie in a playoff.[8] Henning, however, won the final event of the year, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters.[9] This assured that he secured the Order of Merit by a small margin over Hayes.[10]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1975–76 season.[11]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)		 Winner[lower-alpha 2] Notes
29 NovBeck's PGA ChampionshipTransvaal35,000South Africa Dale Hayes (8)
6 DecHoliday Inns OpenSwaziland20,000South Africa Dale Hayes (9)
13 DecGeneral Motors International ClassicCape20,000South Africa Gary Player (9)
10 JanDatsun InternationalTransvaal20,000South Africa Allan Henning (3)
16 JanICL InternationalTransvaal20,000England Peter Townsend (1)
17 JanNatal OpenNatal–Cancelled
24 JanNCR Western Province OpenCape15,000South Africa Allan Henning (4)
31 JanBP South African OpenTransvaal20,000South Africa Dale Hayes (10)
7 FebDunlop South African MastersTransvaal18,000South Africa Gary Player (10)
15 FebRhodesian Dunlop MastersRhodesia15,000South Africa Allan Henning (5)

Unofficial events

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)		 Winners Notes
4 Jan Datsun International Transvaal n/a Team South Africa Team event

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[10]

PositionPlayerPrize money (R)
1South Africa Allan Henning18,276
2South Africa Dale Hayes17,630
3South Africa John Fourie12,001
4South Africa Cobie Legrange10,413
5South Africa Hugh Baiocchi9,881

Notes

  1. ↑ A further one tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ↑ 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

  1. 1 2 "Hayes "burns"". The Age. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Hayes repeats". The Morning Call. 30 November 1975. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Play-of win". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 8 December 1975. p. 15 (26 in paper). Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ↑ "Birthday success for Reece". The Birmingham Post. 12 January 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Townsend Victory". The Daily Telegraph. 19 January 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Holiday sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 26 January 1976. p. 11 (18 in paper). Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  7. ↑ "S. Africans Tie in Open". The Miami Herald. 1 February 1976. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dale Hayes Wins". The Evening Review. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Golf title". The Canberra Times. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 February 1976. p. 17. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via Trove.
  10. 1 2 Berkovitz, Anton; Samson, Andrew (1993). South Africa and international sports factfinder. D. Nelson. p. 96. ISBN 1868061019. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "1975/76 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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