1997–98 Asia Golf Circuit
| Duration | 1 May 1997 – 3 May 1998 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 7 |
| Most wins |  Frankie Miñoza (4) |
| Order of Merit | Frankie Miñoza |
| Rookie of the Year |  Scott Rowe |
← 1996–97 1999 → | |
The 1997–98 Asia Golf Circuit was the 37th season of the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit), one of the main professional golf tours in Asia (outside of Japan) alongside the Asian PGA Tour.
OWGR discontinuation
[edit]From 1998 onwards, the Asia Golf Circuit was discontinued from the Official World Golf Ranking. The 1997 Maekyung LG Fashion Open was the final event to receive OWGR points.[1]
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 1997–98 season.[2][3]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 May | Maekyung LG Fashion Open | South Korea | 400,000 |  Shin Yong-jin (1) |
12 | KOR | |
| 15 Feb | Ericsson Philippine Masters | Philippines | 100,000 | Frankie Miñoza (7) |
n/a | Upgraded to official event | |
| 22 Feb | Benson & Hedges Malaysian Open | Malaysia | 300,000 |  Ed Fryatt (3) |
n/a | ||
| 1 Mar | Rolex Masters | Singapore | 300,000 | Frankie Miñoza (8) |
n/a | ||
| 22 Mar | Philippine Open | Philippines | 250,000 | Frankie Miñoza (9) |
n/a | ||
| 26 Apr | Kirin Open | Japan | ¥100,000,000 | Frankie Miñoza (10) |
24 | JPN | |
| 3 May | Maekyung LG Fashion Open | South Korea | ₩350,000,000 | Scott Rowe (1) |
n/a | KOR |
Order of Merit
[edit]The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[4] The leading player on the Order of Merit earned status to play on the 1998 PGA of Japan Tour.[5]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankie Miñoza |
252,048 |
| 2 | Ed Fryatt |
90,352 |
| 3 |  Jim Rutledge |
85,614 |
| 4 | Scott Rowe |
77,678 |
| 5 | Shin Yong-jin |
73,833 |
Awards
[edit]| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year (Tun Abdul Hamid Omar Award) | Scott Rowe |
[6] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asia Golf Circuit events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asia Golf Circuit members.
- ^ JPN − PGA of Japan Tour; KOR − Korean Tour.
References
[edit]- ^ "How the ranking evolved". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ Laidlaw, Renton (1999). The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook 1999. p. 175. ISBN 0333725719. Retrieved 23 February 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Oh, Tae-sik (31 December 1997). "프로골프 아시안투어 상반기 경기일정 확정 국내 톱랭커 대거 참여" [The competition schedule for the first half of the professional golf Asian tour has been confirmed. A large number of top rankers in Korea will participate.]. Maeil Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "신용진, 아시안투어 상금랭킹 5위" [Shin Yong-jin, 5th place in the Asian Tour prize ranking]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 7 May 1998. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "ミノザ逃げきり。アジアンツアー総合優勝も。" [Miñoza ran away. Also won the overall championship on the Asian Tour.]. Golf Digest Japan (in Japanese). 26 April 1998. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ Alladin, Unus (8 May 1998). "Cool head wins rookie Rowe top Seoul prize". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 February 2024.