# 1972–73 Southern Africa Tour

The 1972–73 Southern Africa Tour was the second season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

## Season outline

The first event of the season was the Luyt Lager PGA Championship in November 1972. In the third round, Harold Henning "romped to a five stroke lead." In the final round, Hugh Baiocchi shot a five-under-par 65 to get into contention. However, Henning managed to secure a one shot win. Gary Player recorded a third-place result. However, Player came back and won the following week at the Dunlop South African Masters with a 268 total, defeating Henning by one shot. It was his third straight win at the event.
In addition, at the Dunlop South African Masters, Bobby Cole recorded a joint third place finish. This precipitated much success for Cole over the next month. On 9 December, he won the Natal Open. He followed it up with a second consecutive win, this time at the Rhodesian Dunlop Masters. The following week, he finished runner-up at the Ellerines Team Championship (an unofficial money event), with team-mate Dale Hayes.
A number of golfers had success after the Christmas break. Dale Hayes had continued success, winning the first tournament after break, the Holiday Inns Open in Swaziland. Hugh Baiocchi won the subsequent event, the NCR Western Province Open. England's Peter Oosterhuis was in contention to win the following event; the ICL Transvaal Open. He shot a third round 68 (−3) to take the 54-hole lead. However, John Fourie was victorious. At the following week's Rothmans International Matchplay, Oosterhuis responded with a victory, defeating Gary Player 6 and 5. Fourie, meanwhile, won his second consecutive tournament, winning the concurrently played Rothmans International Strokeplay.
The Order of Merit title was between Hayes and Baiocchi. At the 11th tournament; the General Motors International Classic, Baiocchi and Hayes were tied at 282. Baiocchi defeated Hayes in a sudden-death playoff. The following week, Hayes responded with a victory at the Corlett Drive Classic, shooting a course record 65 in the final round. At the final tournament of the season, Hayes won for the second consecutive week at the Schoeman Park Open. The back-to-back wins helped him secure the Order of Merit over Fourie and Baiocchi by a small margin.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1972–73 season.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) | Winner | Notes |
| 25 Nov | Luyt Lager PGA Championship | Transvaal | 25,000 | Harold Henning (2) | |
| 2 Dec | Dunlop South African Masters | Transvaal | 15,000 | Gary Player (4) | |
| 9 Dec | Natal Open | Natal | 10,000 | Bobby Cole (2) | |
| 17 Dec | Rhodesian Dunlop Masters | Rhodesia | Rh$10,000 | Bobby Cole (3) | |
| 7 Jan | Holiday Inns Open | Swaziland | 5,000 | Dale Hayes (2) | |
| 13 Jan | NCR Western Province Open | Cape | 14,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (1) | |
| 20 Jan | ICL Transvaal Open | Transvaal | 15,000 | John Fourie (2) | |
| 27 Jan | Rothmans International Matchplay | Transvaal | 25,000 | Peter Oosterhuis (3) | New tournament |
| 27 Jan | Rothmans International Strokeplay | Natal | 5,000 | John Fourie (3) | New tournament |
| 3 Feb | BP South African Open | Natal | 16,000 | Bob Charles (n/a) | |
| 10 Feb | General Motors International Classic | Cape | 15,000 | Hugh Baiocchi (2) | |
| 17 Feb | Corlett Drive Classic | Transvaal | 10,000 | Dale Hayes (3) | New tournament |
| 24 Feb | Schoeman Park Open | Orange Free State | 10,000 | Dale Hayes (4) | |

### Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) | Winners | Notes |
| 23 Dec | Ellerines Team Championship | Transvaal | 10,000 | Graham Henning and Harold Henning | Team event |

## Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.
| Position | Player | Points |
| 1 | Dale Hayes | 1,252 |
| 2 | John Fourie | 1,183 |
| 3 | Hugh Baiocchi | 1,149 |
| 4 | Harold Henning | 1,007 |
| 5 | Bobby Cole | 970 |