The South African golf tournament claiming to be among the richest anywhere outside the United States and a challenger to some of the world’s top events has been indefinitely postponed.

Organisers said on Friday that the Tournament of Hope, which was to have prize money of $US8.5 million ($A8.2 million), won’t have its inaugural playing in November as planned and has been “put on hold for the foreseeable future” after failing to secure sponsorship.

South Africa’s Sunshine Tour says that it has been “unable to fulfill the expectations of potential sponsors for various reasons beyond its control” and the weakening of the South African currency “added more pressure to the budget.”

Sunshine Tour executive director Selwyn Nathan says “it is deeply regrettable that we have had to take this decision.”