Korean Tour
The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about US$14 million.
Current season, competition or edition: | |
| Sport | Golf |
|---|---|
| Countries | Based in South Korea. |
| Official website | http://www.kpga.co.kr/ |
Professional golf in Korea dates back to the mid 20th century. The Korean Professional Golf Championship and the Korean Open were launched in 1958 and the KPGA was founded in 1963. Various other tournaments were created over the following decades.
The KPGA's tours serve as feeders for richer tours around the world. Substantial numbers of Korean golfers have played on the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, and a few have made it onto the PGA Tour or the European Tour. Notable examples include Yang Yong-eun, who was the first Korean to win a men's major golf championship, and K. J. Choi, the first Korean-born PGA Tour winner, who has eight PGA Tour wins including the 2011 Players Championship.
Main tour
In 2011, there were 17 events on the main tour. All these tournament have prize funds of at least 300 million won (approximately US$300,000). Four have prize funds of 1 billion won (US$1 million) while the Ballantine's Championship has a prize fund of 2.2 million euros (approximately US$3.1 million). Total prize money for the tour is approximately 12 billion won (US$12 million).
Until 2011, regular Korean Tour events did not carry Official World Golf Ranking points. The first regular tournament to carry World Rankings Points was the 2011 Twayair Open.[1] Korean Tour events carry a minimum of nine OWGR points for the winner, increased from six in 2016.
Order of Merit winners
The Order of Merit uses a points system, currently called Genesis Points.
- 2019 Moon Kyong-jun
- 2018 Lee Hyung-joon
- 2017 Choi Jin-ho
- 2016 Choi Jin-ho
- 2015 Lee Tae-hee
- 2014 Kim Seung-hyuk
- 2013 Ryu Hyun-woo
- 2012 Lee Sang-hee
- 2011 Hong Soon-sang
- 2010 Kim Bi-o
- 2009 Bae Sang-moon
- 2008 Kim Hyung-sung
- 2007 Kim Kyung-tae
- 2006 Yang Yong-eun
- 2005 Hur Suk-ho
- 2004 Yang Yong-eun
- 2003 Choi Kyung-Ju
- 2002 Choi Kyung-Ju
- 2001 Kang Wook-soon
- 2000 Kang Wook-soon
- 1999 Kang Wook-soon
- 1998 Choi Gwang-soo
- 1997 Choi Kyung-Ju
- 1996 Choi Kyung-Ju
- 1995 Choi Sang-ho
- 1994 Choi Sang-ho
- 1993 Park Nam-sin
- 1992 Choi Sang-ho
- 1991 Choi Sang-ho
- 1990 Lee Kang-sun
- 1989 Bong Tae-ha
- 1988 Park Nam-sin
- 1987 Choi Youn-soo
- 1986 Choi Sang-ho
- 1985 Choi Sang-ho
- 1984 Choi Sang-ho
- 1983 Choi Sang-ho
- 1982 Han Chang-sang
- 1981 Choi Sang-ho
- 1980 Kim Seung-hack
- 1979 Han Chang-sang
- 1978 Cho Tae-woon
Multiple winners
- 9 times
- Choi Sang-ho: 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995
- 4 times
- Choi Kyung-Ju: 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003
- 3 times
- Kang Wook-soon: 1999, 2000, 2001
- 2 times
- Han Chang-sang: 1979, 1982
- Park Nam-sin: 1988, 1993
- Yang Yong-eun: 2004, 2006
- Choi Jin-ho: 2016, 2017
Other KPGA tours
The KPGA launched a developmental tour in 1999. In 2007 there are two developmental tours. Both of them consist of two-day, 36-hole tournaments, and the dates of the tours do not clash. The Bear River Tour consists of ten tournaments with prize funds of 60 million won (US$60,000) each, and the SBS Golf Calloway Tour has eight tournaments with prize funds of 40 million won (US$40,000) each.
The KPGA also runs a senior tour and a series of events for teaching pros. The Korean Senior Open Golf Championship was launched in 1996.
Women's professional golf has a high profile in South Korea, due to the immense international success of Korean women golfers such as Se Ri Pak since the mid-1990s. There is a separate LPGA of Korea Tour for women.
References
- "Official World Golf Ranking 2011 Week 14" (PDF). 3 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- "Genesis Target Awards Ceremony – Grand Prize" (in Korean). KPGA. Retrieved 27 November 2018.