1962 Far East Circuit

Last updated

1962 Far East Circuit season
Duration8 February 1962 (1962-02-08) – 11 March 1962 (1962-03-11)
Number of official events5
Order of Merit Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson
1963

The 1962 Far East Circuit was the inaugural season of the Far East Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.

Contents

Season outline

The circuit consisted of five tournaments over five weeks, and was formed from the existing national open championships of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore, along with the inaugural national open championship of Malaysia and the Yomiuri Shimbun sponsored Yomiuri International in Japan. There was a total prize fund of just over M$200,000, which included a bonus pool sponsored by Seagram of M$15,000 for the overall circuit prize. [1] [2]

Golfers from around the world participated in the tour, [3] including some of the biggest names in Australian golf, [4] and it was multiple Open Championship winner, Peter Thomson, who emerged as the circuit's first Order of Merit winner. [5]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1962 season. [1] [6]

DateTournamentHost countryPurse
(US$)
Winner [lower-alpha 1] Notes
11 Feb Philippine Open Philippines11,500 Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg Celestino Tugot (1)
18 Feb Singapore Open SingaporeMS$28,000 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Brian Wilkes (1)
25 Feb Malayan Open Malaya£A3,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Phillips (1)New tournament
4 Mar Hong Kong Open Hong Kong9,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Len Woodward (1)
11 Mar Yomiuri International Japan15,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson (1)New tournament

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using total strokes. [5]

PositionPlayerStrokes
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson 1,405
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kel Nagle 1,422
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Phillips 1,422
4 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bob Charles 1,430

Notes

  1. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Far East Circuit events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Far East Circuit members.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Golf's gathering of champions". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 February 1962. p. 18. Retrieved 3 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  2. "Big entry for Philippines Open golf next month". Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 9 January 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 3 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  3. "Big Prizes For Far East Golf". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 January 1962. p. 20. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via Trove.
  4. "Record for Far Eastern golf tour". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 January 1962. p. 14. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via Trove.
  5. 1 2 "Far East loot to Aussies". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 12 March 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 3 March 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Steel, Donald (1987). Golf Records, Facts and Champions . Guinness. pp. 153–155. ISBN   0851128475 . Retrieved 16 December 2023 via Archive.org.