The Dunhill Championship was first played in 1959 and has been part of the European Tour since 1995. It is held one of those tournaments which are held outside Europe. It is one of the two events that are held in South Africa, with the other being the South African Open. It is a part of both the European Tour and the South African Sunshine Tour. Since its inception, due to change in sponsorship its name has been changed a number of times. It was originally known as the South African PGA Championship .
South African PGA Championship (1959-1994)
Lexington South African PGA Championship 1995
Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (1996-99)
Alfred Dunhill Championship (2000-01)
Dunhill Championship (2002- )
The 2006 Dunhill Championship was held in December of 2005 and had a prize purse of €1 million. Ernie Els won with a three-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen and also pocketed € 92,096 in return.
Past Winners
The Dunhill Championship has been a happy hunting ground for Ernie Els during modern times. He has won on his home ground three times. In the 1970's Dale Hayes had completed a hat trick of wins here. He won straight from 1974-76. Golfing greats like Bobby Locke and Gary Player have also won here. Below is a list of the players who have won this tournament since it became part of the European Tour .
- Ernie Els 2006; 1999; 1995; 1992
- Charl Schwartzel 2005
- Marcel Siem 2004
- Mark Foster 2003
- Justin Rose 2002
- Adam Scott 2001
- Anthony Wall 2000
- Tony Johnstone 1998; 1989
- Nick Price 1997
- Sven Struver 1996
The Dunhill Championship is not very popular among the top golfers due to its low prize money. As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other tournaments in the European Tour .
