2019 Japan Golf Tour
Golf tour season
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The 2019 Japan Golf Tour was the 47th season of the Japan Golf Tour (formerly the PGA of Japan Tour), the main professional golf tour in Japan since it was formed in 1973.
Ryo Ishikawa (3) Shugo Imahira| Duration | 17 January 2019 – 8 December 2019 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 25 |
| Most wins | Ryo Ishikawa (3) |
| Money list | Shugo Imahira |
| Most Valuable Player | Shugo Imahira |
| Rookie of the Year |  Jazz Janewattananond |
← 2018 2020–21 → | |
Changes for 2019
The Shinhan Donghae Open was added to the schedule and was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korean Tour. Additionally, a new tournament that was to be played in Japan as part of the 2019–20 PGA Tour season; the Zozo Championship was also added to the schedule as a co-sanctioned event between the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour.[1]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2019 season.[2]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner[a] | OWGR points | Other tours[b] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jan | SMBC Singapore Open | Singapore | US$1,000,000 | Jazz Janewattananond (1) | 24 | ASA | |
| 21 Apr | Token Homemate Cup | Mie | 130,000,000 |  Brendan Jones (15) | 16 | ||
| 5 May | The Crowns | Aichi | 120,000,000 | Katsumasa Miyamoto (12) | 16 | ||
| 12 May | Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Golf | Chiba | 150,000,000 | Yosuke Asaji (1) | 15 | ASA | |
| 26 May | Kansai Open Golf Championship | Nara | 70,000,000 | Tomoharu Otsuki (1) | 16 | ||
| 2 Jun | Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open | Ibaraki | 100,000,000 | Yuta Ikeda (21) | 16 | ||
| 9 Jun | Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills | Ibaraki | 150,000,000 | Mikumu Horikawa (1) | 16 | Japan major | |
| 30 Jun | Dunlop Srixon Fukushima Open | Fukushima | 50,000,000 | Rikuya Hoshino (2) | 16 | ||
| 7 Jul | Japan PGA Championship | Kagoshima | 150,000,000 | Ryo Ishikawa (15) | 16 | Japan major | |
| 25 Aug | Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup | Hokkaido | 150,000,000 | Ryo Ishikawa (16) | 16 | ||
| 1 Sep | RIZAP KBC Augusta | Fukuoka | 100,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (1) | 16 | ||
| 8 Sep | Fujisankei Classic | Yamanashi | 110,000,000 |  Park Sang-hyun (2) | 16 | ||
| 15 Sep | ANA Open | Hokkaido | 110,000,000 | Yosuke Asaji (2) | 16 | ||
| 22 Sep | Shinhan Donghae Open | South Korea | ₩1,200,000,000 |  Jbe' Kruger (1) | 14 | ASA, KOR | New to Japan Golf Tour |
| 29 Sep | Panasonic Open Golf Championship | Hyōgo | 150,000,000 | Toshinori Muto (7) | 15 | ASA | |
| 6 Oct | Tokai Classic | Aichi | 110,000,000 | Shaun Norris (4) | 16 | ||
| 13 Oct | Bridgestone Open | Chiba | 150,000,000 | Shugo Imahira (3) | 16 | ||
| 20 Oct | Japan Open Golf Championship | Fukuoka | 210,000,000 |  Chan Kim (4) | 32 | Flagship event[c] | |
| 28 Oct | Zozo Championship | Chiba | US$9,750,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 64 | PGAT | New limited-field event |
| 3 Nov | Mynavi ABC Championship | Hyōgo | 150,000,000 | Hwang Jung-gon (4) | 16 | ||
| 10 Nov | Heiwa PGM Championship | Okinawa | 200,000,000 | Choi Ho-sung (3) | 16 | ||
| 17 Nov | Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Shizuoka | 200,000,000 | Takumi Kanaya (a) (1) | 16 | ||
| 24 Nov | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Miyazaki | 200,000,000 | Shugo Imahira (4) | 26 | ||
| 1 Dec | Casio World Open | Kōchi | 200,000,000 | Kim Kyung-tae (14) | 19 | ||
| 8 Dec | Golf Nippon Series JT Cup | Tokyo | 130,000,000 | Ryo Ishikawa (17) | 19 | Japan major |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner(s) | OWGR points | Other tours[b] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$11,500,000 | Tiger Woods | 100 | Major championship | |
| 19 May | PGA Championship | United States | US$11,000,000 | Brooks Koepka | 100 | Major championship | |
| 16 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$12,500,000 | Gary Woodland | 100 | Major championship | |
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | Northern Ireland | US$10,750,000 |  Shane Lowry | 100 | Major championship | |
| 15 Dec | Hitachi 3Tours Championship | Chiba | 57,000,000 | LPGA of Japan Tour | n/a | Team event |
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[3][4]
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shugo Imahira | 168,049,312 |
| 2 | Shaun Norris | 145,044,149 |
| 3 | Ryo Ishikawa | 132,812,990 |
| 4 | Chan Kim | 95,880,318 |
| 5 | Hwang Jung-gon | 94,985,827 |
Awards
Japan Challenge Tour
| Duration | 5 April 2019 – 25 October 2019 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 15 |
| Most wins | Todd Baek (2) Yoshikazu Haku (2) Ham Jeong-woo (2) Park Jun-won (2) |
| Money list | Yoshikazu Haku |
← 2018 2020–21 → | |
The 2019 Japan Challenge Tour, titled as the 2019 AbemaTV Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.
OWGR inclusion
In July 2018, it was announced that all Japan Challenge Tour events, beginning in 2019, would receive Official World Golf Ranking points at the minimum level of 4 points for the winner of a 54-hole event.[6]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2019 season.[7]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner[d] | OWGR points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Apr | Novil Cup | Tokushima | 15,000,000 | Park Jun-won (1) | 4 |
| 19 Apr | i Golf Shaper Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Danthai Boonma (1) | 7 |
| 26 Apr | Japan Create Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 |  Justin De Los Santos (1) | 7 |
| 17 May | Heiwa PGM Challenge I Road To Championship | Ibaraki | 15,000,000 | Kim Seong-hyeon (1) | 7 |
| 31 May | Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament | Saitama | 15,000,000 | Yoshikazu Haku (1) | 4 |
| 14 Jun | Landic Challenge 7 | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 |  Scott Vincent (1) | 7 |
| 21 Jun | Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge | Akita | 15,000,000 | Park Jun-won (2) | 4 |
| 29 Jun | Daisendori Cup | Tottori | 16,000,000 | Eric Sugimoto (1) | 4 |
| 3 Aug | TI Challenge | Hyōgo | 15,000,000 | Ham Jeong-woo (1) | 4 |
| 13 Sep | Delight Works ASP Challenge | Tochigi | 15,000,000 | Ham Jeong-woo (2) | 4 |
| 20 Sep | Heiwa PGM Challenge II Road To Championship | Saga | 15,000,000 | Todd Baek (1) | 4 |
| 27 Sep | Elite Grips Challenge | Hyōgo | 15,000,000 |  Peter Karmis (1) | 4 |
| 4 Oct | Toshin Challenge | Shiga | 15,000,000 | Todd Baek (2) | 4 |
| 11 Oct | Ryo Ishikawa Everyone Project Challenge | Tochigi | 15,000,000 | Taiga Sugihara (a) (1) | 4 |
| 25 Oct | JGTO Novil Final | Ibaraki | 15,000,000 | Yoshikazu Haku (2) | 4 |
Money list
The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[8][9] The top 20 players on the money list earned status to play on the 2020–21 Japan Golf Tour.[10]
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshikazu Haku | 6,797,444 |
| 2 | Todd Baek | 6,560,781 |
| 3 | Eric Sugimoto | 6,462,858 |
| 4 | Park Jun-won | 6,280,270 |
| 5 | Ham Jeong-woo | 5,400,000 |
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Golf Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Japan Golf Tour members.
- ASA − Asian Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; PGAT − PGA Tour.
- Also a Japan major championship.
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Challenge Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Japan Challenge Tour as success at this level usually leads to promotion to the Japan Golf Tour.