Dunhill Championship

Infobox_Golf_Tournament
tournament_name = Dunhill Championship
nickname =


location = flagicon|RSA Mpumalanga, South Africa
establishment = 2000
course = Leopard Creek Golf Club
par = 72
yardage = 7,249
tour = European Tour
Sunshine Tour
format = Stroke play
purse = €1,000,000
month_played = December
aggregate =
to-par =
Current Champion = John Bickerton

The Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of three events in South Africa co-sanctioned by the more prestigious European Tour alongside the South African Open and the Joburg Open. It was founded in 2000 but its origins lie in Dunhill's sponsorship of the South African PGA Championship between 1995 and 1999. Following the 1999 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship, won by Ernie Els, the company decided to discontinue their association with the SAPGA and to create their own stand alone tournament. This was held in January 2000 and won by Anthony Wall. From 1995-1999, the Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship formed part of the European Tour. From 2000, the Dunhill Championship replaced the SAPGA on the European Tour schedule.

Since 2004, the tournament moved to a December date. This resulted in two tournaments in 2004. The December 2004 tournament formed part of the 2005 European Tour for order of merit purposes and this approach has continued in 2005 and 2006.

The Dunhill Championship should not be confused with the Dunhill Links Championship, a much richer European Tour event with the same sponsor which is played in Scotland.

Winners

*For winners before 2000, see South African PGA Championship.

External links

* [http://www.europeantour.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7BAEFB93B0%2DEFF5%2D4C05%2DAB0F%2DFD08D947D944%7D&eventid=2006096&infosid=3&pageno=1 Coverage on the European Tour's official site]