2008 Sunshine Tour


The 2008 Sunshine Tour was the ninth season of professional golf tournaments since the southern Africa based Sunshine Tour was relaunched in 2000, and the second since the tour switched a calendar based season in 2007. The Sunshine Tour represents the highest level of competition for male professional golfers in the region.
The tour was based predominantly in South Africa, with 26 of the 30 tournaments being held in the country. Two events were held in Swaziland, with one each in Zambia and Namibia. There were two new tournaments, The Africa Open, which the tour hopes will become "Africa's Major" in the future, and the BMG Classic, founded by the Bearing Man Group, who wished to continue their involvement with the tour following the end of their long run as title sponsors of the Highveld Classic.
The order of merit was dominated by Richard Sterne, who won all three European Tour co-sanctioned tournaments, by far the richest on the tour.

Schedule

The table below shows schedule of events for the 2008 Sunshine Tour. As usual, the tour consisted of two distinct parts, commonly referred to as the "Summer Swing" and "Winter Swing". Tournaments held during the Summer Swing generally had much higher prize funds, attracted stronger fields, and were the only tournaments on the tour to carry world ranking points, with three events being co-sanctioned with the European Tour. Since the tour switched to a calendar based season, this part of the tour has been split in two, with six events being held at the start of the year, and the remainder in December.
The Winter Swing ran from March to November, starting with the Mount Edgecombe Trophy, and closing with the Coca-Cola Charity Championship, hosted by Gary Player.
Prize funds shown did not count directly towards the Order of Merit. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of official money Sunshine Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Sunshine Tour members.
DatesTournamentVenue
Prize fundWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
10–13 JanJoburg OpenRoyal Johannesburg and Kensington GC€1,000,000 Richard Sterne 20Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
24–27 JanDimension Data Pro-AmGary Player CC and Lost City GC, Sun City€1,100,000 James Kamte 14
31 Jan – 3 FebNashua MastersWild Coast Sun CCR1,200,000 Marc Cayeux 14
7–10 FebThe Africa OpenFish River Sun CCR1,200,000 Shaun Norris 14New event
14–17 FebVodacom ChampionshipPretoria CCR2,400,000 James Kingston 14
21–24 FebTelkom PGA ChampionshipThe Country Club, JohannesburgR2,500,000 Louis Oosthuizen 14
28 Feb – 2 MarMount Edgecombe TrophyMount Edgecombe GCR500,000 Mark Murless n/a
28–30 MarZambia OpenLusaka, ZambiaR750,000 Tyrone Ferreira n/a
3–5 AprVodacom Origins of Golf Free StateBloemfontein GCR440,000 Dion Fourie n/a
23–25 AprVodacom Origins of Golf GautengPretoria CCR440,000 Tyrone van Aswegen n/a
7–10 MaySamsung Royal Swazi Sun OpenRoyal Swazi GC, SwazilandR700,000 Jean Hugo n/a
15–17 MayNashua Golf ChallengeGary Player CC and Lost City GC, Sun CityR500,000 Keith Horne n/a
28–30 MayVodacom Origins of Golf KwaZulu NatalSelborne Hotel Spa and Golf EstateR440,000 Jean Hugo n/a
6–8 JunLombard Insurance ClassicRoyal Swazi GC, SwazilandR400,000 Merrick Bremner n/a
21–23 AugSAA Pro-Am InvitationalPaarl GCR500,000 George Coetzee n/a
27–29 AugVodacom Origins of Golf Western CapeArabella GCR440,000 Garth Mulroy n/a
3–5 SepTelkom PGA Pro-AmCenturion CCR400,000 Merrick Bremner n/a
11–13 SepSuncoast ClassicDurban CCR500,000 Jake Roos n/a
17–19 SepVodacom Origins of Golf Eastern CapeHumewood GC, Port ElizabethR440,000 George Coetzee n/a
2–4 OctSeekers Travel Pro-AmDainfern CCR440,000 Trevor Fisher Jnr n/a
10–12 OctBMG ClassicEbotse GC, JohannesburgR500,000 Doug McGuigan n/aNew event
17–19 OctMetmar Highveld ClassicWitbank GCR600,000 James Kamte n/a
22–24 OctVodacom Origins of Golf FinalSt Francis LinksR440,000 Jaco van Zyl n/a
30 Oct – 1 NovPlatinum ClassicMooinooi GCR705,000 Thomas Aiken n/a
6–9 NovMTC Namibia PGA ChampionshipWindhoek Country Club, NamibiaR1,000,000 Tongoona Charamba n/a
25–27 NovCoca-Cola Charity ChampionshipThe Outeniqua, FancourtR550,000 Garth Mulroy n/a
1–3 DecNedbank Affinity CupLost City GC, Sun CityR550,000 Tyrone van Aswegen n/a
4–7 DecNedbank Golf ChallengeGary Player CC, Sun City$4,385,000 Henrik Stenson 34
11–14 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipLeopard Creek CC, Malelane€1,000,000 Richard Sterne 24Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
18–21 DecSouth African Open ChampionshipPearl Valley Golf Estates€1,000,000 Richard Sterne 40Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Order of Merit

's Robert Rock was the third highest money winner but did not qualify for the Order of Merit, having only played in two events.