Thanks to a partnership from prominent crypto business Luno, the Sunshine Tour, a South African men’s professional golf tour, is the first to offer prizes in cryptocurrency.
Luno is the official crypto investment partner of the Sunshine Tour and the new sponsor of the Luno Order of Merit. The leading golfer will get R500,000 in Bitcoin from the Luno Order of Merit, while the second-ranked golfer will receive R200,000 in Bitcoin and the third-ranked golfer will receive R100,000 in Bitcoin.
Marius Reitz, Luno’s General Manager for Africa, said: “Luno is focused on empowering people by building a new financial system that is easily accessible, meets the challenge of a constantly evolving world, and which is more suited to the digital age. We are the facilitators of a new way of thinking about money. Professional golfers have a very different way of thinking about risk and reward, both on and off the golf course. We are delighted to partner with the Sunshine Tour as this thinking aligns perfectly with our vision to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands by making it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about crypto.”
The order of merit format shifted from a money-based system to a points-based ranking system, on 2 May 2022. Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said the points-based ranking system is more internationally recognized.
“We are constantly evolving for the benefit of our member professionals. The Luno Order of Merit perfectly encapsulates the value we place on evolving golf systems and pioneering initiatives that appeal to our younger golfing audience.”
Points will be allocated according to the tournament prize money on offer as follows:
Tier 1 tournament (prize money up to R2 000 000): 2,000 points.
Tier 2 tournament (prize money between R2 000 001 and R5 999 999): 4,000 points.
Tier 3 tournament (prize money between R6 000 000 and R10 000 000): 6,000 points.
Tier 4 tournament (prize money between R10 000 001 and R19 999 999): 10,000 points.
Tier 5 tournament (prize money of R20 000 000 or more): 12,000 points.
As of March 2022, an estimated 300 million people worldwide were utilizing cryptocurrency, a number that is likely to rise as global markets acquire better access to the crypto ecosystem. With client growth of nearly 40% year over year, South Africa is one of Luno’s strongest and most active markets.
“Luno allows customers to buy crypto for as little as R1. We encourage people to start small using a credible platform and learn about crypto on our free learning portal,” says Reitz.