2022 Asian Tour

2022 Asian Tour season
Duration3 February 2022 (2022-02-03) – 4 December 2022 (2022-12-04)
Number of official events20[a]
Most winsTaiwan Chan Shih-chang (2)
United States Sihwan Kim (2)
Thailand Nitithorn Thippong (2)
Order of MeritUnited States Sihwan Kim
International Series Order of MeritZimbabwe Scott Vincent
Players' Player of the YearUnited States Sihwan Kim
Rookie of the YearSouth Korea Kim Bi-o
2023 →

The 2022 Asian Tour was the 27th season of the modern Asian Tour (formerly the Asian PGA Tour), the main professional golf tour in Asia (outside of Japan) since it was established in 1995.

LIV Golf alliance

With LIV Golf's initial investment in the Asian Tour having been reported in late 2021.[1] The 2022 season marked the introduction of the International Series, which was unveiled in February. The series was to consist of 10 events to be added to Asian Tour schedules over the following 10 years, with each event featuring prize funds between US$1,500,000 and $2,000,000. The investment being primarily backed by LIV Golf.[2]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2022 season.[3]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(US$)		 Winner[b] OWGR
points		 Other
tours[c]		 Notes
6 Feb PIF Saudi International Saudi Arabia 5,000,000 United States Harold Varner III (1) 50 Flagship event
27 Feb Royal's Cup Thailand 400,000 Taiwan Chan Shih-chang (4) 14
6 Mar International Series Thailand Thailand 1,500,000 United States Sihwan Kim (1) 14 International Series[d]
27 Mar DGC Open India 500,000 Thailand Nitithorn Thippong (1) 10 PGTI New tournament
3 Apr New Zealand Open New Zealand – Cancelled[4] – ANZ
10 Apr Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup Thailand 750,000 Thailand Ratchanon Chantananuwat (a) (1) 14 LET Mixed event[d]
16 Apr Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge Thailand 750,000 United States Sihwan Kim (2) 14 LET Mixed event[d]
8 May GS Caltex Maekyung Open South Korea ₩1,200,000,000 South Korea Kim Bi-o (1) 12 KOR
15 May Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Japan ¥100,000,000 Japan Shugo Imahira (1) 15 JPN
5 Jun[e]
11 Jun		 International Series England England 2,000,000 Zimbabwe Scott Vincent (1) 14 International Series[d]
26 Jun Kolon Korea Open South Korea ₩1,350,000,000 South Korea Kim Min-kyu (1) 12 KOR
7 Aug Mandiri Indonesia Open Indonesia 500,000 India Gaganjeet Bhullar (10) 14
14 Aug International Series Singapore Singapore 1,500,000 Thailand Nitithorn Thippong (2) 7.43 International Series[d]
21 Aug International Series Korea South Korea 1,500,000 South Korea Ok Tae-hoon (1) 6.76 International Series[d]
11 Sep Shinhan Donghae Open Japan ₩1,400,000,000 Japan Kazuki Higa (n/a) 9.03 JPN, KOR
25 Sep Yeangder TPC Taiwan 700,000 Australia Travis Smyth (1) 2.29
2 Oct Mercuries Taiwan Masters Taiwan 1,000,000 Taiwan Chan Shih-chang (5) 2.29
6 Nov International Series Morocco Morocco 1,500,000 Thailand Jazz Janewattananond (7) 4.91 International Series[d]
13 Nov International Series Egypt Egypt 1,500,000 United States Andy Ogletree (1) 4.49 International Series[d]
27 Nov Bangabandhu Cup Golf Bangladesh Open Bangladesh 400,000 Thailand Danthai Boonma (2) 2.44
4 Dec BNI Indonesian Masters Indonesia 1,500,000 Thailand Sarit Suwannarut (1) 5.91 International Series

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[7][8]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 United States Sihwan Kim 627,458
2 South Korea Kim Bi-o 599,609
3 Zimbabwe Scott Vincent 517,845
4 Thailand Nitithorn Thippong 506,390
5 Thailand Sadom Kaewkanjana 487,909

International Series Order of Merit

The International Series Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the International Series, calculated in U.S. dollars.[9] The leading player on the International Series Order of Merit earned status to play in the 2023 LIV Golf League.[10]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1 Zimbabwe Scott Vincent 517,845
2 United States Sihwan Kim 437,133
3 Thailand Jazz Janewattananond 388,094
4 Canada Richard T. Lee 365,315
5 Thailand Phachara Khongwatmai 346,455

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
Players' Player of the Year United States Sihwan Kim [11]
Rookie of the Year South Korea Kim Bi-o [11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian Tour members.
  3. ^ ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; JPN − Japan Golf Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; LET − Ladies European Tour; PGTI − Professional Golf Tour of India.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Also a new tournament.
  5. ^ The International Series England was removed from the schedule in March 2022 following the announcement of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which included an event with the same venue (Centurion Club) and dates.[5] It was later readded to the schedule and held a week earlier than originally planned at a new venue, Slaley Hall in Northumberland.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Greg Norman to head up new $200m Saudi-backed series on Asian Tour". The Guardian. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. ^ "The International Series unveiled". Asian Tour. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Tournament schedule 2022 season". Asian Tour. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. ^ "New Zealand Open scrapped over COVID travel restrictions". Reuters. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  5. ^ Ball, Josh (17 March 2022). "The Asian Tour 'caught off guard' by Greg Norman's LIV Golf Invitational, brings forward International Series London event". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  6. ^ Wright, Andrew (1 April 2022). "Saudi-Backed Asian Tour Confirms First Ever England Tournament". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  7. ^ "2022 Asian Tour Order of Merit". Asian Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Si-hwan finally hits big time with Order of Merit win". The Star. Malaysia. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ^ "2022 International Series Order of Merit". Asian Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Vincent Tops International Series Order Of Merit, Earns Spot In 2023 LIV Golf League". LIV Golf. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Sihwan Kim, Saudi International, International Series Thailand, Madinaty win the votes!". Asian Tour. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023. Sihwan Kim has been rewarded for a phenomenal season on the Asian Tour by being voted The Players' Player of the Year by the Tour's membership, after the final count from an online poll was completed this week... Bio Kim, a graduate of the 2020 Qualifying School, had the honour of being named Rookie of the Year.