| Sport | Golf |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970s |
| Ceased | c. 1993 |
| Countries | Botswana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Related competitions | European Tour Challenge Tour Sunshine Tour |
The Safari Circuit, or Safari Tour, was a small professional golf tour based in West and East Africa that ran from the 1970s through into the 1990s.[1] From 1977, the tour was organised by the PGA European Tour[2][3] and from 1991 the tournaments were included on the second-tier Challenge Tour schedule.[4]
The Safari Circuit developed in the late 1960s as British professionals sought to play some competitive tournament golf while working in Africa during the winter prior to the start of the tournament circuit in Great Britain and Ireland. Originally centred around a few tournaments in Kenya and Zambia, as it evolved the tour became known colloquially as the "safari circuit" or "safari tour". The Cock o' the North tournament at Ndola Golf Club in Ndola, Zambia had been held since 1954, being mostly patronised by players from Southern and Central Africa. When the Kenya Open was founded in 1967, followed by the Lusaka Open in 1969 and the Mufulira Open in 1970, attracting professionals from Great Britain and Ireland, the circuit began to form.[5]
In 1972, the Zambia Open was founded, which was initially hosted in rotation by the three existing tournament hosts (Lusaka, Mufulira, Ndola). In the mid-1970s, the Nigerian Open was also included with the circuit being split into legs in West and East Africa. There were many other smaller events surrounding the main tournaments, such as the Gambian and Liberian opens, and the Benin and Port Harcourt pro-ams in Nigeria.[6] In 1977, the British Professional Golfers' Association assumed control of the circuit and the number of Zambian events was reduced to two in order to accommodate the fledgling European Tour, which was starting earlier in the year. During this period the Ndola and Mufulira events alternated on the schedule, with Lusaka being held annually.[5] In the 1980s the Ivory Coast Open,[7] Kalahari Diamond Classic[8] (for one year only, in 1982) and Zimbabwe Open were added.[9] As a result, in 1986 the number of tournaments in Zambia was reduced to just one, the Zambia Open at Lusaka.[5]
With the PGA European Tour operating the circuit, tournament winners were rewarded with exemption on the main tour for that season.[9] The leading money winners were also granted exemption on the tour,[10] and until 1986 the Order of Merit winner was automatically qualified into The Open Championship.[11][12] In the mid-1980s the circuit suffered as local economies struggled, with prize-money payments from Ivory Coast and Nigerian tournaments being reduced and delayed, culminating in the removal of the East African legs in 1987.[13][14] As the European Tour schedule expanded further through the 1980s, the Safari Circuit became further squeezed, and the Nigerian and Ivory Coast opens were moved into December. In 1991 the five remaining tournaments were added to the new second-tier Challenge Tour schedule, although for a few years the "Safari Circuit" was still regarded as distinct tour.[15][16]
| Season | Order of Merit winner | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Mark James | [17] |
| 1978 | ||
| 1979 | John Morgan | [18] |
| 1980 | Brian Waites | [19] |
| 1981 | Brian Barnes | [20] |
| 1982 | David Jagger | [21][22] |
| 1983 | Gordon J. Brand | [23] |
| 1984 | Ewen Murray | [24] |
| 1985 | Bill Longmuir | [25] |
| 1986 | Gordon J. Brand | [26] |
| 1987 | Gordon J. Brand | [26] |
| 1988 | Vijay Singh | [27] |
| 1989 | Vijay Singh | [27] |
| 1990 |