1979 Asia Golf Circuit

Last updated

1979 Asia Golf Circuit season
Duration22 February 1979 (1979-02-22) – 22 April 1979 (1979-04-22)
Number of official events9
Most wins Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen (3)
Order of Merit Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen
1978
1980

The 1979 Asia Golf Circuit was the 18th season of the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit), the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.

Contents

Changes for 1979

The Philippine Open was withdrawn from the circuit due to non-payment of contributions towards the overall circuit fund, however the tournament did go ahead but did not count for the circuit standings. [1] [2] Along with Thailand, the Philippines had also not been forthcoming with their contributions for the previous season. [3] After the tournament, the Philippines announced their intention to reschedule the Philippine Open to December and possibly rejoin the circuit with the Philippine Masters, an invitational event which had served as warm-up event for the circuit since its inauguration in 1976, [4] however they ultimately rejoined the circuit for the 1980 season with the same tournament schedules.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1979 season. [5] [6] [7]

DateTournamentHost countryPurse
(US$)
Winner [lower-alpha 1] Other
tours [lower-alpha 2]
Notes
25 Feb Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open Hong Kong100,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Norman (n/a)
4 Mar Singapore Open Singapore50,000 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen (1)
11 Mar Malaysian Open Malaysia60,000 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen (2)
18 Mar Thailand Open Thailand40,000 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Krantz (1)
25 Mar Indian Open India30,000 Flag of the United States.svg Gaylord Burrows (2)
1 Apr Indonesia Open Indonesia45,000 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen (3)
8 Apr Taiwan Open Taiwan50,000 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Liang-Huan (8)
15 Apr Korea Open South Korea60,000 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Shen Chung-shyan (1)
22 Apr Dunlop International Open Japan100,000 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Hiroshi Ishii (n/a) JPN

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

DateTournamentHost countryPurse
($)
WinnerNotes
11 Feb Philippine Masters Philippines55,000 Flag of Myanmar (1974-2010).svg Mya Aye Limited-field event
18 Feb Philippine Open Philippines100,000 Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg Ben Arda

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system. [7]

PositionPlayerPoints
1 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Lu Hsi-chuen 142
2 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Hsu Chi-san 109
3 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Hsu Sheng-san 84
4 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Kuo Chie-Hsiung 83
5 Flag of Myanmar (1974-2010).svg Mya Aye 78

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. JPN − PGA of Japan Tour.

Related Research Articles

The Philippine Open was one of the world's longest-running men's golf tournaments. First held in 1913, it is also Asia's oldest golf tournament.

The Malaysian Open is a men's professional golf tournament that is currently played on the Asian Tour, and was formerly played on the European Tour.

The Indonesia Open is the national open golf championship of Indonesia, and traditionally held in the capital, Jakarta.

Francisco "Frankie" Miñoza is a Filipino professional golfer.

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The Yomiuri Open was a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Founded in 1970 as the Wizard Tournament, a 36-hole invitational tournament, it was played at Hashimoto Country Club in Wakayama until 1979 when it moved to Yomiuri Country Club in Hyōgo. With the move, it also became a full 72-hole tour event, having been extended to 54 holes in 1976, and adopted its new name. It remained at Yomiuri every year except for 1996, when it was played at Wakasu Golf Links in Tokyo. In 2007 it merged with the Mizuno Open to form the Gateway to the Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic.

The Kirin Open was a golf tournament in Japan. It was founded in 1972 as the season ending event on the Asia Golf Circuit, replacing the Yomiuri International which had been cancelled when sponsors decided to discontinue the event. It was also a fixture on the Japan Golf Tour from 1974 until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Open (golf)</span>

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The Thailand Open is the national golf open of Thailand.

Kuo Chie-Hsiung is a Taiwanese professional golfer.

The Taiwan Open was the national open golf tournament of Taiwan. It was also known as the Republic of China Open, ROC Open, Chinese Taipei Open, or simply the China Open. It was founded in 1965, and became an event on the Asia Golf Circuit the following year. The Asian PGA Tour was founded in 1995, and the Asian Circuit declined. The Taiwan Open became an event on the new tour in 1999, and was last held in 2006.

The Kuzuha International was a professional golf tournament in Japan between 1965 and 1990. It was played at the Kuzuha Public Golf Course in Kuzuha, Hirakata, Osaka. From 1978 to 1983, it was a Japan Golf Tour event.

The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 1962 and consisted of the national open championships of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, plus a final tournament held in Japan. The tour gradually grew over the subsequent years, eventually becoming a regular ten tournament circuit in 1974.

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The 1981 Asia Golf Circuit was the 20th season of the Asia Golf Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.

The 1978 Asia Golf Circuit was the 17th season of the Asia Golf Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.

The 1980 Asia Golf Circuit was the 19th season of the Asia Golf Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.

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The Philippine Masters is a professional golf tournament in the Philippines. First played as the Philippine Masters Invitational in 1976 over the golf course at Nichols Air Base in Pasay, to the south of Manila, it was scheduled the week before the first event of the Asia Golf Circuit calendar, and as such was considered an unofficial season opener or warm-up event for the tour.

The Sanpo Classic was a professional golf tournament in Japan. Founded in 1972, it was an event on the Japan Golf Tour from its inaugural season in 1973. It was held at the Asahi Country Club near Ichihara, Chiba.

References

  1. "Philippines withdraw from circuit". The Straits Times. Singapore. 12 January 1979. p. 31. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  2. "Lack of competition, so pros leave for PI". The Straits Times. Singapore. 14 February 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  3. McCormack, Mark H. (1979). Dunhill Golf Yearbook 1979 . Doubleday. pp. 227–243, 376–385. ISBN   0385149409 . Retrieved 8 November 2023 via Archive.org.
  4. "New $420,000 PI open". New Nation. Singapore. AFP. 20 February 1979. p. 17. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  5. "Taiwan's Lu first rookie to win three golf titles". The Straits Times. Singapore. Reuter. 25 April 1979. p. 32. Retrieved 4 March 2020 via National Library Board.
  6. McCormack, Mark H. (1980). Dunhill Golf Yearbook 1980. Springwood Books. pp. 205–232, 371–379. ISBN   0905947835.
  7. 1 2 Simms, George (1980). World of Golf 1980. Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 142–146. ISBN   0362020078.