Sunshine Tour to appeal to 'new market' ahead of DP World Tour African-swing

The Sunshine Tour is gearing up for a bumper summer as it looks to attract more South African fans to the fairways.

The DP World Tour's African swing sees four back-to-back co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour events, starting with the Joburg Open (24-27 November), South African Open (1-4 December), Alfred Dunhill Championship (8-11 December) and Mauritius Open (15-18 December).

The Joburg Open will open 2022/23 DP World Tour season and will see a change of venue with Houghton Golf Club.

South Africa's Thriston Lawrence will defend his title after his maiden win last year catapulted him up the world golf rankings. He also clinched a win at European Masters in August.

This will be followed by the South African Open, which is the world's second oldest national Open. It returns to the DP World Tour schedule after last year's tournament was a Sunshine Tour event due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt stressed the importance of keeping the South African Open on the DP World Tour schedule.

"To get that trophy back on the schedule was important, we want to have the pathway and progression. If you look at the winners of the trophy, it shows you the significance and importance of the event on the South African calendar," Abt told News24.

"It is the gem in all these other golf tournaments that we have and it's critical purely from a passion, pride, history, heritage, perspective in our country.

"It's all about creating that pathway for our players by giving them an opportunity to compete on bigger tours."

The SA Open Championship has changed its brand slightly this year under a new sponsor Investec and a change of venue with Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate set to host the event from 1-4 December. 

The Sunshine