South African PGA Championship

The South African PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. It has most recently been played in September, with a prize fund of R 2,000,000. It is currently held at St Francis Links in St Francis Bay.

PGA Championship

Tournament information
Location	St Francis Bay, South Africa
Established	1965
Course(s)	St Francis Links
Par	72
Length	7,192 yards (6,576 m)
Tour(s)	Sunshine Tour European Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	R 2,000,000
Month played	September
Tournament record score
Aggregate	259 David Frost (1994)
To par	−28 Louis Oosthuizen (2008)
Current champion
Pieter Moolman
Location map
St Francis Links Location in South Africa Show map of South Africa St Francis Links Location in the Eastern Cape Show map of Eastern Cape

History

The current South African PGA Championship was founded in 1965, largely thanks to Gary Player and Brian Henning. The inaugural event was held in February 1965 and was won by Harold Henning who beat Player by 3 strokes.^[1]

New sponsors in 1972 gave the championship a home at The Wanderers Golf Club where it remained until 1995,^[2] when it became the first tournament in South Africa to be co-sanctioned by the European Tour. The following year Alfred Dunhill took over from Lexington as title sponsors, breaking a 23-year association with the PGA.

Following the 1999 event, Dunhill decided to end their association with the South African PGA and create their own tournament, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, which also replaced the PGA Championship on the European calendar. As a result, there was no PGA Championship held in 2000, but the tournament returned to the Sunshine Tour the following year with a new sponsor. It is one of the richest sole-sanctioned events on the Sunshine Tour.

The South African PGA Championship, along with the South African Open and the South African Masters formed the Triple Crown of South African golf. Winning all three titles in the same season is a feat only achieved by Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els.^[3]

Winners

Year	Tour(s)[a]	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
PGA Championship
2024	AFR	Pieter Moolman	273	−15	1 stroke	Barend Botha
2023	AFR	Rupert Kaminski	280	−8	1 stroke	Matthew Spacey
2022	AFR	George Coetzee (2)	273	−15	3 strokes	Casey Jarvis
2021	AFR	Dean Burmester	271	−17	2 strokes	Pieter Moolman
Eye of Africa PGA Championship
2020	AFR	Darren Fichardt	268	−20	Playoff	Matías Calderón
2019	AFR	Louis de Jager	276	−12	Playoff	Trevor Fisher Jnr
2018	AFR	Matías Calderón	271	−17	1 stroke	Combrinck Smit
2017	AFR	Erik van Rooyen	272	−16	Playoff	Dylan Frittelli Makhetha Mazibuko
2016	AFR	Jaco van Zyl (3)	268	−20	Playoff	Dean Burmester
Telkom Business PGA Championship
2015: No tournament
2014	AFR	Titch Moore	273	−15	Playoff	Ulrich van den Berg
Telkom PGA Championship
2013	AFR	Jaco van Zyl (2)	268	−20	1 stroke	Dylan Frittelli
2012	AFR	Keith Horne	269	−19	3 strokes	Jaco Ahlers Darren Fichardt Alex Haindl
2011	AFR	George Coetzee	261	−27	2 strokes	Neil Schietekat
2010	AFR	Michiel Bothma (2)	268	−20	1 stroke	George Coetzee
2009	AFR	Jaco van Zyl	270	−18	1 stroke	Graham DeLaet Trevor Fisher Jnr
2008	AFR	Louis Oosthuizen (2)	260	−28	14 strokes	Hennie Otto
2007	AFR	Louis Oosthuizen	266	−22	1 stroke	Richard Sterne
2006	AFR	Grégory Bourdy	267	−21	6 strokes	Thomas Aiken
2005	AFR	Warren Abery	273	−15	1 stroke	Charl Schwartzel Jaco van Zyl
2004	AFR	Warrick Druian	267	−21	5 strokes	Michiel Bothma Mark Murless
2003: No tournament
2002 (Dec)	AFR	Michiel Bothma	273	−15	Playoff	Mark Murless
2002 (Jan)	AFR	Chris Williams (2)	271	−17	2 strokes	Hennie Otto
South African PGA Championship
2001	AFR	Deane Pappas	269	−19	3 strokes	Don Gammon
2000: No tournament
Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship
1999	AFR, EUR	Ernie Els (3)	273	−15	4 strokes	Richard Kaplan
1998	AFR, EUR	Tony Johnstone (2)	271	−17	2 strokes	Ernie Els
1997	AFR, EUR	Nick Price	269	−19	Playoff	David Frost
1996	AFR, EUR	Sven Strüver	202[b]	−14	3 strokes	Ernie Els David Feherty
Lexington South African PGA Championship
1995	AFR, EUR	Ernie Els (2)	271	−9	2 strokes	Roger Wessels
Lexington PGA Championship
1994	AFR	David Frost	259	−21	7 strokes	Nick Price
1993	AFR	Mark McNulty	265	−15	1 stroke	John Bland David Frost Nick Price Wayne Westner
1992	AFR	Ernie Els	271	−9	1 stroke	Ian Palmer Kevin Stone Wayne Westner
1991	AFR	Roger Wessels	271	−9	Playoff	Mark James Hugh Royer III
1990	AFR	Fulton Allem (2)	266	−14	2 strokes	Chris Davison
1989	AFR	Tony Johnstone	269	−11	Playoff	Chris Williams
1988	AFR	David Feherty	267	−13	1 stroke	Eamonn Darcy
1987	AFR	Fulton Allem	268	−12	2 strokes	Hugh Baiocchi
1986	AFR	Bobby Cole	265	−15	5 strokes	David Frost Teddy Webber
1985	AFR	Chris Williams	272	−8	1 stroke	Mark McNulty Jay Townsend Denis Watson
1984	AFR	Gavan Levenson	271	−9	3 strokes	Nick Price
1983	AFR	Corey Pavin	270	−10	1 stroke	Nick Price
1982	AFR	Gary Player (3)	272	−8	3 strokes	Gordon Brand Jnr Mark McNulty Bill Rogers
1981: No tournament
1980	AFR	Hugh Baiocchi	268	−12	1 stroke	Mark McNulty Gary Player
1979	AFR	Gary Player (2)	203[b]	−7	1 stroke	Bobby Cole Harold Henning Nick Price Denis Watson
1978	AFR	Hale Irwin	275	−9	1 stroke	Hugh Baiocchi Mark McNulty Robbie Stewart
1977	AFR	John Bland	275	−5	2 strokes	Gary Player
Sportsman Lager PGA Championship
1976	AFR	Dale Hayes (3)	266	−14	1 stroke	Gary Player
Beck's PGA Championship
1975	AFR	Dale Hayes (2)	266	−14	6 strokes	Allan Henning
1974	AFR	Dale Hayes	271	−9	1 stroke	Gary Player
Luyt Lager PGA Championship
1973	AFR	Tom Weiskopf	273	−7	3 strokes	Vin Baker
1972	AFR	Harold Henning (4)	279	−1	1 stroke	Hugh Baiocchi
1971 (Nov)	AFR	Tienie Britz (2)	280	−8	Playoff	Don Gammon Peter Oosterhuis
South African PGA Championship
1971 (Feb)		Tienie Britz	277
1970		Denis Hutchinson	278
1969		Gary Player	272
1968: No tournament
1967		Harold Henning (3)	275
1966		Harold Henning (2)	272
1965		Harold Henning	281

Notes

1. AFR − Sunshine Tour; EUR − European Tour.
2. Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.