| Duration | 19 February 1981 – 26 April 1981 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 10 |
| Most wins |  Chen Tze-ming (2) Tom Sieckmann (2) Payne Stewart (2) |
| Order of Merit | Lu Hsi-chuen |
← 1980 1982 → | |
The 1981 Asia Golf Circuit was the 20th season of the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit), the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.
In 1978, Papua New Guinea had joined the Asian Golf Confederation with the intention of adding a tournament to the circuit in 1980. [1] [2] These plans were postponed and the tournament was then provisionally scheduled to start the 1981 season, [3] but Papua New Guinea withdrew from the circuit later in the year. [4]
After several years of the Indian Open clashing with the Malaysian Dunlop Masters, the Malaysian Golf Association managed to get the organisers, Dunlop Malaysia, to agree to reschedule their event. [5] However, the organisers of the Rolex Masters in Singapore controversially then organised their tournament for the same dates. [6]
The following table lists official events during the 1981 season. [7] [8]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) | Winner [lower-alpha 1] | Other tours [lower-alpha 2] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Feb | Philippine Open | Philippines | 150,000 | Tom Sieckmann (1) | ||
| 1 Mar | Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | 120,000 | Chen Tze-ming (2) | ||
| 8 Mar | Thailand Open | Thailand | 60,000 | Tom Sieckmann (2) | ||
| 15 Mar | Indian Open | India | 60,000 | Payne Stewart (1) | ||
| 22 Mar | Malaysian Open | Malaysia | 70,000 | Lu Hsi-chuen (7) | ||
| 29 Mar | Singapore Open | Singapore | 70,000 |  Mya Aye (2) | ||
| 5 Apr | Indonesia Open | Indonesia | 60,000 | Payne Stewart (2) | ||
| 12 Apr | Taiwan Open | Taiwan | 100,000 | Ho Ming-chung (3) | ||
| 19 Apr | Korea Open | South Korea | 70,000 | Chen Tze-ming (3) | ||
| 26 Apr | Dunlop International Open | Japan | ¥30,000,000 |  Kosaku Shimada (1) | JPN |
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system. [9]
| Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lu Hsi-chuen | 713 |
| 2 | Ho Ming-chung | 697 |
| 3 | Payne Stewart | 690 |
| 4 | Tom Sieckmann | 675 |
| 5 | Chen Tze-ming | 627 |
The Hong Kong Open is a golf tournament which is played on the Asian Tour, and formerly on the European Tour. It was founded in 1959 and in 1962 was one of the five tournaments that made up the inaugural Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit. It remained part of the circuit until 1996, before joining the Asian Tour, then known as the Omega Tour, in 1997. It became co-sanctioned by the European Tour in 2001, as part of the 2002 season.
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.
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Francisco "Frankie" Miñoza is a Filipino professional golfer.
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The Thailand Open is the national golf open of Thailand.
Kuo Chie-Hsiung is a Taiwanese professional golfer.
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Hsu Sheng-san is a Taiwanese professional golfer.
The Yomiuri International was a golf tournament held in Japan from 1962 to 1971. It was played at the Yomiuri Country Club in Tokyo. It was an event on the Asia Golf Circuit every year except for 1964, and served as the season finale.
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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.
The Malaysian Masters was a golf tournament that was held in Malaysia from 1988 until 1992. In 1991 and 1992, it was part of the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule as the tour sought to expand into Southeast Asia, and as a result carried world ranking points in those years.
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.
The 1966 Far East Circuit was the fifth season of the Far East Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.
Hsu Chi-san is a Taiwanese professional golfer. During his career he won many tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippine, Taiwan and Singapore national opens on the Asia Golf Circuit.
The Sabah Masters was a professional golf tournament that was held annually in Sabah, Malaysia.
Kurt Cox was an American professional golfer. Though he only briefly played on the PGA Tour, he had much success on the Asia Golf Circuit in the 1980s. He won three tournaments on the circuit in the early 1980s and finished runner-up in the final circuit standings in 1980.
Kenji Hosoishi is a Japanese professional golfer. Hosoishi abruptly had much success at the age of 24; as an "unknown" he defeated a number of "top players" to win the Japan Open. In the late 1960s he had much success on the Asia Golf Circuit, winning the Indian Open in back-to-back years as well as the 1968 Malaysian Open. After his win in Malaysia the legendary Australian golfer Peter Thomson stated that he "is likely to emerge as the number one star on this tour." Hosoishi did not meet these expectations, however. Though he continued to play consistently on the leading Asian tours in the 1970s he did not win another significant event. By the mid-1980s he had largely retired from work as a touring professional.