The Victoria Falls Classic was a Rhodesian golf tournament held from 1976 to 1979. Starting in 1977 it was on the

Southern African Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...

History

The event was played at Elephant Hills Country Club at Victoria Falls, Rhodesia. The course was a par-73 measuring 7,868 yards. It was the longest course in Africa. The inaugural event was sponsored by

Meikles Meikles Limited () is a conglomerate in Zimbabwe that owns, among other businesses, multiple luxury hotels, Barbours Department Store, Meikles department stores, Meikles Mega Market stores, Meikles supermarkets, Tanganda Tea. The company formerly ...

. Englishman

Nick Job Nicholas James Job (born 27 July 1949) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Senior Tour. He has won five times on the tour. Professional career Job turned professional in 1965 and qualified for the 1966 Open Championship ...

beat South African Andries Oosthuizen in a sudden-death playoff after they had tied on 293. The following year, days after the event, the Elephant Hills Country Club was destroyed by fire, after being hit by a missile during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

. In 1978, the war was still going on but the tournament continued to be played.

Winners

*1976

*1977 John Bland *1978

Simon Hobday Simon Forbes Newbold Hobday (23 June 1940 – 2 March 2017) was a South African professional golfer who won tournaments on three continents. Early life Hobday was born in the British Embassy in Mafikeng, South Africa. Both of his parents were ...

*1979

Phil Simmons Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a Trinidadian cricket coach and former player who is currently a coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He played international cricket for the West Indies from 1987 to 1999 as an openin ...

References

{{reflist Former Sunshine Tour events Golf tournaments in Zimbabwe Sports competitions in Rhodesia