The 1978–79 Southern Africa Tour was the eighth season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
Season outline Simon Hobday was the top player early in the season. At the inaugural event, the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters, he was victorious. The following event, the Victoria Falls Classic, also held in Rhodesia, was being played in the middle of the Rhodesian Bush War. Hobday tried to recruit a number of top European players to play in the event but was not successful. He went on the win the event.
South Africans Dale Hayes, Hugh Baiocchi, and Tienie Britz were the top players later in the season. In the third event, the ICL International, Hayes defeated Baiocchi in a playoff. At the fifth tournament, Baiocchi won the Yellow Pages South African Open by one shot. The following week Hayes defeated Britz in a playoff at the Kronenbrau Masters. Britz won the Kalahari Classic the week after, however. Baiocchi went on to win the Order of Merit.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1978–79 season.
DateTournamentLocationPurse(R)WinnerNotes 4 Nov Rhodesian Dunlop Masters Rhodesia Rh$14,000 Simon Hobday (1) 11 Nov Victoria Falls Classic Rhodesia 35,000 Simon Hobday (2) 18 Nov ICL International Transvaal 35,000 Dale Hayes (13) 2 Dec Lexington PGA Championship Transvaal 50,000 Hale Irwin (n/a) 9 Dec Yellow Pages South African Open Cape 45,000 Hugh Baiocchi (7) 15 Dec Kronenbrau Masters Cape 30,000 Dale Hayes (14) 14 Jan Kalahari Classic Botswana 18,000 Tienie Britz (3) New tournament 7 Feb Holiday Inns Open Swaziland 20,000 John Bland (4)
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 Hugh Baiocchi 19,804
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