New dawn for Purchase and Co.

Warwick Purchase’s victory in the final of the Betway Big Easy Tour at Copperleaf last Friday not only handed him his second win of the season but also the honour of being the Order of Merit winner.

His one-stroke victory over Graham van der Merwe proved enough to hand him the title of the Order of Merit, and thus, seeing him lead a new 12-man cohort into the Sunshine Tour for the 2025/26 season.

The other players who earned their way into greatness are England’s Joe Knox, Paul Boshoff, Xander Basson, veteran Ulrich van den Berg, Slade Pickering, Luke Mayo, Ryan Van Der Klis, Eric Wowor, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Leon Vorster and Marcel Steyn Scholtz.

Toto Thimba Jnr, Allister de Kock, Thanda Mavundla, Jacquin Hess, Kyle Wykes and Jastice Mashego are the top six transformation players who have secured their Sunshine Tour playing rights.

Now, having secured their rights to compete among the elite golfers on the continent, Purchase and company are yet another solid proof of how integral this circuit is as a pathway to the Sunshine Tour and beyond.

They will draw inspiration from previous graduates who have gone on to make names for themselves on the grandest golfing stages around the world. Such players include Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the former Investec South African Open champion.

For Purchase, however, his win in the final also earned him a spot in the season-opening Waterfall City Tournament of Champions supported by Attacq and the Waterfall City Management Company, where every champion in South African golf will be vying for the glory of being crowned the Champion of Champions.

The Betway Big Easy Tour is the primary pathway into the Sunshine Tour and enjoys the support of Ernie Els, among other patrons.