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1976–77 Southern Africa Tour

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1976–77 Southern Africa Tour season
Duration3 November 1976 (1976-11-03) – 19 December 1976 (1976-12-19)
Number of official events6
Most winsSouth Africa Hugh Baiocchi (3)
Order of MeritSouth Africa Gary Player

The 1976–77 Southern Africa Tour was the sixth season of the Southern Africa Tour. Hugh Baiocchi and Gary Player had much success throughout the season. Player won two of the first three events and finished runner-up in the other, the Sportsman Lager PGA Championship. However, Baiocchi closed the season with three consecutive wins, including a defeat of Player at the ICL Transvaal International.

Season outline

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Gary Player had much success at the beginning of the season. He won the inaugural event, the Dunlop South African Masters, by four over joint runner-up Hugh Baiocchi.[1] At the Sportsman Lager PGA Championship, the second event of the season, Player finished one shot behind champion Dale Hayes while Baiocchi finished joint third.[2] Player went on to win the subsequent event, the Yellow Pages South African Open. This was his 10th victory of his national open beating the previous record set by Bobby Locke.[3] However, it was Baiocchi who had the most success at the end of the season. He won the final three events, including a defeat of Player at the ICL Transvaal International.[4][5]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1976–77 season.[4][6]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(R)
Winner[a] Notes
6 Nov Dunlop South African Masters Transvaal 25,000 South Africa Gary Player (11)
20 Nov Sportsman Lager PGA Championship Transvaal 50,000 South Africa Dale Hayes (12)
27 Nov Yellow Pages South African Open Natal 35,000 South Africa Gary Player (12)
4 Dec Holiday Inns Invitational Swaziland 20,000 South Africa Hugh Baiocchi (4)
11 Dec ICL International Transvaal 25,000 South Africa Hugh Baiocchi (5)
19 Dec Rhodesian Dunlop Masters Rhodesia 15,000 South Africa Hugh Baiocchi (6)

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[6]

Position Player Prize money (R)
1 South Africa Gary Player 19,363
2 South Africa Hugh Baiocchi 18,938
3 South Africa Dale Hayes 15,470
4 South Africa Cobie Legrange 9,938
5 South Africa Bobby Verwey 8,922

Notes

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  1. ^ 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

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  1. ^ "Golf". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 8 November 1976. p. 10 (18 in paper). Retrieved 11 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  2. ^ "Hayes pips Player". The Sunday People. London, United Kingdom. 21 November 1976. p. 37. Retrieved 11 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gary wins record 10th Open". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 29 November 1976. p. 14 (24 in paper). Retrieved 11 September 2023 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ a b "1976/77 Tournament schedule". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. ^ "1976 ICL Transvaal International". Sunshine Tour. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b Simms, George (1977). World of Golf 1977. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 145–148. ISBN 0354090011.
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