The 1996–97 Southern Africa Tour, titled as the 1996–97 FNB Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Southern Africa Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.
| Duration | 11 April 1996 – 2 March 1997 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 25 |
| Most wins |  Mark McNulty (3) |
| Order of Merit | Nick Price |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
It was the fifth season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with First National Bank, that began in 1992.[1]
Changes for 1996–97
The South African Open became co-sanctioned with the European Tour for the first time, benefitting from an increased purse and world ranking points.[2]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1996–97 season.[3]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (R) | Winner[a] | OWGR points | Other tours[b] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Apr | Kalahari Classic | Northern Cape | 70,000 |  Brett Liddle (3) | n/a | ||
| 21 Apr | Newcastle Classic | KwaZulu-Natal | 60,000 |  John Nelson (1) | n/a | ||
| 18 May | FNB Pro Series (Eastern Cape) | Eastern Cape | 100,000 | Ian Hutchings (1) | n/a | ||
| 6 Jun | FNB Pro Series (Swaziland) | Swaziland | 100,000 | Chris Williams (4) | n/a | ||
| 6 Jul | Bosveld Classic | Limpopo | 70,000 | James Kingston (3) | n/a | ||
| 25 Aug | Platinum Classic | North West | 100,000 | Mark Murless (1) | n/a | ||
| 15 Sep | Bearing Man Highveld Classic | Mpumalanga | 70,000 | Des Terblanche (2) | n/a | ||
| 28 Sep | IDC Development Tourism Classic | Mpumalanga | 100,000 | Justin Hobday (3) | n/a | ||
| 5 Oct | FNB Pro Series (Western Cape) | Western Cape | 100,000 | Clinton Whitelaw (2) | n/a | ||
| 12 Oct | FNB Pro Series (Free State) | Free State | 100,000 | Clinton Whitelaw (3) | n/a | ||
| 19 Oct | FNB Pro Series (Botswana) | Botswana | 100,000 | Des Terblanche (3) | n/a | ||
| 27 Oct | FNB Pro Series (Namibia) | Namibia | 100,000 | Kevin Stone (2) | n/a | ||
| 1 Nov | Trustbank Gauteng Classic | Gauteng | 100,000 | Ashley Roestoff (3) | n/a | New tournament | |
| 10 Nov | Mycom Mafunyane Trophy | Limpopo | 200,000 | Roger Wessels (3) | n/a | ||
| 15 Nov | Lombard Tyres Classic | Gauteng | 100,000 | Sean Pappas (2) | n/a | ||
| 30 Nov | Leopard Rock Classic | Zimbabwe | 100,000 | Chris Williams (4) | n/a | New tournament | |
| 8 Dec | Zimbabwe Open | Zimbabwe | 400,000 | Mark McNulty (25) | 16 | ||
| 15 Dec | Zambia Open | Zambia | 150,000 | Desvonde Botes (1) | n/a | New to Southern Africa Tour | |
| 19 Jan | San Lameer South African Masters | KwaZulu-Natal | 750,000 | Mark McNulty (26) | 14 | ||
| 26 Jan | Nashua Wild Coast Sun Challenge | Western Cape | 750,000 | Mark McNulty (27) | 14 | ||
| 2 Feb | FNB Players Championship | KwaZulu-Natal | 750,000 | Warren Schutte (1) | 16 | ||
| 9 Feb | South African Open | Gauteng | £500,000 |  Vijay Singh (n/a) | 34 | EUR | |
| 16 Feb | Dimension Data Pro-Am | Gauteng | £400,000 | Nick Price (8) | 26 | EUR | Pro-Am |
| 23 Feb | Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship | Gauteng | £300,000 | Nick Price (9) | 24 | EUR | |
| 2 Mar | Hollard Royal Swazi Sun Open | Swaziland | 500,000 | Warrick Druian (1) | 12 |
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) | Winner | OWGR points | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | North West | US$2,500,000 |  Colin Montgomerie | 44 | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South African rand.[4]
| Position | Player | Prize money (R) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Price | 1,223,027 |
| 2 | Mark McNulty | 619,427 |
| 3 | Retief Goosen | 301,304 |
| 4 | Nico van Rensburg | 269,289 |
| 5 | Wayne Westner | 255,811 |