2018 Japan Golf Tour

2018 Japan Golf Tour season
Duration18 January 2018 (2018-01-18) – 2 December 2018 (2018-12-02)
Number of official events24[a]
Most winsJapan Kodai Ichihara (2)
Money listJapan Shugo Imahira
Most Valuable PlayerJapan Shugo Imahira
Rookie of the YearJapan Rikuya Hoshino
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Japan Golf Tour was the 46th 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.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[1]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(¥)		 Winner[b] OWGR
points		 Other
tours[c]		 Notes
21 Jan SMBC Singapore Open Singapore US$1,000,000 Spain Sergio García (n/a) 28 ASA
28 Jan Leopalace21 Myanmar Open Myanmar US$750,000 United States Paul Peterson (1) 19 ASA
15 Apr Token Homemate Cup Mie 130,000,000 Japan Atomu Shigenaga (1) 16
22 Apr Panasonic Open Golf Championship Osaka 150,000,000 India Rahil Gangjee (1) 15 ASA
29 Apr The Crowns Aichi 120,000,000 South Korea Yang Yong-eun (5) 16
13 May Japan PGA Championship Chiba 150,000,000 Japan Toru Taniguchi (20) 16 Japan major
20 May Kansai Open Golf Championship Hyōgo 70,000,000 Japan Ryuko Tokimatsu (3) 16
27 May Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Ibaraki 100,000,000 Japan Shota Akiyoshi (1) 16
3 Jun Japan Golf Tour Championship
Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills		 Ibaraki 150,000,000 Japan Kodai Ichihara (1) 16 Japan major
24 Jun Dunlop Srixon Fukushima Open Fukushima 50,000,000 Japan Shota Akiyoshi (2) 16
8 Jul Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup Hokkaidō 150,000,000 Australia Brad Kennedy (3) 16
26 Aug RIZAP KBC Augusta Fukuoka 100,000,000 Japan Daijiro Izumida (1) 16
2 Sep Fujisankei Classic Yamanashi 110,000,000 Japan Rikuya Hoshino (1) 16
9 Sep[d] ISPS Handa Match Play Saitama 230,000,000 Thailand Thanyakon Khrongpha (1) 16
16 Sep ANA Open Hokkaidō – Cancelled[e] –
23 Sep Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Golf Saitama 150,000,000 Japan Yuta Ikeda (20) 15 ASA
30 Sep Top Cup Tokai Classic Aichi 110,000,000 Philippines Angelo Que (1) 16
14 Oct Japan Open Golf Championship Kanagawa 200,000,000 Japan Yuki Inamori (1) 32 Flagship event[f]
21 Oct Bridgestone Open Chiba 150,000,000 Japan Shugo Imahira (2) 16
28 Oct Mynavi ABC Championship Hyōgo 150,000,000 Japan Yuta Kinoshita (1) 16
4 Nov Heiwa PGM Championship Okinawa 200,000,000 South Africa Shaun Norris (3) 16
11 Nov Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters Shizuoka 200,000,000 Japan Tatsunori Nukaga (1) 18
18 Nov Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Miyazaki 200,000,000 Japan Kodai Ichihara (2) 30
25 Nov Casio World Open Kōchi 200,000,000 South Korea Choi Ho-sung (2) 16
2 Dec Golf Nippon Series JT Cup Tokyo 130,000,000 Japan Satoshi Kodaira (7) 17 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[c]		 Notes
8 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$11,000,000 United States Patrick Reed 100 Major championship
6 May Legend Charity Pro-Am Chiba 50,000,000 Japan Shugo Imahira n/a Pro-Am
17 Jun U.S. Open United States US$12,000,000 United States Brooks Koepka 100 Major championship
22 Jul The Open Championship Scotland US$10,500,000 Italy Francesco Molinari 100 Major championship
12 Aug PGA Championship United States US$11,000,000 United States Brooks Koepka 100 Major championship
9 Dec Hitachi 3Tours Championship Chiba 57,000,000 Japan PGA Senior 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 Japan Shugo Imahira 139,119,332
2 South Africa Shaun Norris 103,942,450
3 Japan Yuki Inamori 85,301,742
4 Japan Kodai Ichihara 82,245,918
5 Japan Yuta Ikeda 79,671,825

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
Most Valuable Player Japan Shugo Imahira [5]
Rookie of the Year (Shimada Trophy) Japan Rikuya Hoshino [5]

Japan Challenge Tour

2018 Japan Challenge Tour season
Duration30 March 2018 (2018-03-30) – 26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)
Number of official events12
Most winsJapan Taihei Sato (2)
Money listJapan Taihei Sato
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Japan Challenge Tour, titled as the 2018 AbemaTV Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 34th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.

AbemaTV title sponsorship

In January, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with AbemaTV, being renamed as the AbemaTV Tour.[6]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[7]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(¥)		 Winner[g]
1 Apr Novil Cup Tokushima 15,000,000 South Korea Park Bae-jong (1)
20 Apr i Golf Shaper Challenge Fukuoka 15,000,000 Japan Naoto Takayanagi (1)
27 Apr Japan Create Challenge Fukuoka 15,000,000 Japan Shoji Kawai (1)
18 May Heiwa PGM Challenge I Road to Championship Ibaraki 15,000,000 Japan Keisuke Kondo (1)
8 Jun ISPS Handa Challenge Cup Chiba 20,000,000 Japan Ryosuke Kinoshita (1)
22 Jun Landic Challenge Fukuoka 15,000,000 Japan Taihei Sato (1)
29 Jun Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge Akita 15,000,000 Japan Kazuki Higa (1)
14 Sep Heiwa PGM Challenge II Road to Championship Tottori 15,000,000 United States Dodge Kemmer (1)
21 Sep Elite Grips Challenge Hyōgo 15,000,000 Japan Taihei Sato (2)
6 Oct Ryo Ishikawa Everyone Project Challenge Tochigi 15,000,000 Japan Taiji Maekawa (1)
19 Oct Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament Saitama 15,000,000 Japan Tomohiro Umeyama (2)
26 Oct JGTO Novil Final Ibaraki 15,000,000 Japan Yuki Kono (3)

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 2019 Japan Golf Tour.[10]

Position Player Prize money (¥)
1 Japan Taihei Sato 7,256,163
2 Japan Tomohiro Umeyama 5,338,803
3 Japan Naoto Takayanagi 4,813,256
4 Japan Ryosuke Kinoshita 4,251,987
5 Japan Takaya Onoda 3,736,339

Notes

  1. ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b ASA − Asian Tour.
  4. ^ First two rounds played in July.
  5. ^ Cancelled due to the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.[2]
  6. ^ Also a Japan major championship.
  7. ^ 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.

References

  1. ^ "2018 Tour Tournaments". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. ^ "「平成30年北海道胆振東部地震」の影響によりANAオープンが開催中止" [ANA Open canceled due to the influence of the "30 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake"] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. ^ "2018 Money Rankings". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. ^ "ジャパンゴルフツアー表彰式を開催" [Japan Golf Tour Award Ceremony held] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2023. 華やかな受賞式の最後は、賞金王がスピーチするのが恒例だ。賞金ランキング賞のほかに、... [At the end of the glamorous awards ceremony, it is customary for the prize king to give a speech. In addition to the prize money ranking award...]
  5. ^ a b "部門別ランキング賞、受賞者とスポンサー一覧" [Category Ranking Awards, List of Winners and Sponsors] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2023. 最優秀選手賞　今平周吾... 最優秀新人賞　島田トロフィ　星野陸也 [Most Valuable Player Award: Shugo Imahira... Best Newcomer Award Shimada Trophy: Rikuya Hoshino]
  6. ^ "ス 「AbemaTV」がJGTO主催「チャレンジトーナメント」との年間特別スポンサー契約を締結 現「チャレンジトーナメント」から「AbemaTVツアー」へ名称を変更" ["AbemaTV" signs annual special sponsorship agreement with "Challenge Tournament" sponsored by JGTO Changed name from "Challenge Tournament" to "AbemaTV Tour"] (in Japanese). Abema. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  7. ^ "2018 Challenge Schedule". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  8. ^ "2018 Challenge Money Ranking". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  9. ^ "AbemaTVツアー元年の賞金王は佐藤大平" [The prize money king of the first year of the AbemaTV tour is Taihei Sato] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  10. ^ "2019年のツアー前半戦出場権の結果は？" [What are the results of qualifying for the first half of the 2019 Tour?] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023. 2019年度からツアートーナメントの出場資格が変更になり、賞金ランキング上位19名の選手（ランキング1位選手は除く）には2019年の第1回リランキングまでのツアートーナメント出場権を得ることが出来るようになった。 [From 2019, the eligibility for tour tournaments has changed, and the top 19 players in the prize money ranking (excluding the first ranked player) will be able to qualify for the tour tournament until the first reranking in 1.]