The 1998 Asian PGA Tour, titled as the 1998 Omega Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth season of the Asian PGA Tour, one of the main professional golf tours in Asia (outside of Japan) alongside the long established Asia Golf Circuit.

1998 Asian PGA Tour season
Duration5 March 1998 (1998-03-05) – 13 December 1998 (1998-12-13)
Number of official events19
Most winsSouth Korea Kang Wook-soon (2)
South Africa Chris Williams (2)
Order of MeritSouth Korea Kang Wook-soon
Players' Player of the YearSouth Africa Chris Williams
Rookie of the YearEngland Ed Fryatt
1997
1999

It was the fourth season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with Omega SA, that was announced in September 1995.[1]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1998 season.[2][3]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(US$)
Winner[a] Other
tours[b]
Notes
8 Mar London Myanmar Open Myanmar 200,000   Taimur Hussain (1)
15 Mar Classic Indian Open India 300,000   Firoz Ali (1) New to Asian PGA Tour
5 Apr China Orient Masters China 200,000   Chawalit Plaphol (1) New tournament
19 Apr Volvo China Open China 400,000   Ed Fryatt (1)
3 May Macau Open Macau 200,000   Satoshi Oide (1) New tournament
17 May Guam Open Guam 200,000   Jerry Smith (1)
24 May Fila Open South Korea 150,000   Robert Huxtable (1) KOR
9 Aug Sabah Masters Malaysia 150,000   Simon Yates (1)
16 Aug Volvo Masters of Malaysia Malaysia 200,000   Chris Williams (1)
23 Aug Ericsson Singapore Open Singapore 500,000   Shaun Micheel (1)
20 Sep Kolon Sports Korea Open South Korea ₩350,000,000   Kim Dae-sub (a) (1) KOR New to Asian PGA Tour
18 Oct Kuala Lumpur Open Malaysia 200,000   Nico van Rensburg (2)
25 Oct FedEx PGA Championship Singapore 150,000   Chris Williams (2) New tournament
1 Nov Ericsson Classic Taiwan 200,000   Lu Wen-teh (1) New tournament
8 Nov Hero Honda Masters India 200,000   Jyoti Randhawa (1)
15 Nov Thailand Open Thailand 200,000   James Kingston (1) New to Asian PGA Tour
29 Nov Perrier Hong Kong Open Hong Kong 300,000   Kang Wook-soon (3)
6 Dec Omega PGA Championship Hong Kong 500,000   Kang Wook-soon (4)
13 Dec Volvo Asian Matchplay China 200,000   Gerry Norquist (4) Limited-field event

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[4][5]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Kang Wook-soon 150,772
2   Ed Fryatt 139,448
3   Shaun Micheel 124,503
4   Chris Williams 124,044
5   Nico van Rensburg 89,368

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Players' Player of the Year   Chris Williams [5]
Rookie of the Year   Ed Fryatt [5]

Notes

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  1. ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian PGA Tour members.
  2. ^ KOR − Korean Tour.

References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Spencer (15 January 1996). "Asian PGA looks back on a year of achievements". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 November 2023. In September, though, Swiss watchmakers Omega came on board, signing a deal, reputed to be worth more than US$6 million, which ties them to the circuit for an initial three-year period.
  2. ^ "Tournament schedule 1998 season". Asian Tour. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Tour on track despite economic slowdown". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 5 March 1998. p. 15 (28 in paper). Retrieved 22 March 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ "1998 Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit". Asian Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Robinson, Spencer (8 December 1998). "Role model Boonchu honoured by APGA". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 November 2023. Roll of Honour: Omega Order of Merit champion: Kang Wook-soon (South Korea). Wilson Player's Player of the Year: Chris Williams (England). Jaguar Rookie of the Year: Ed Fryatt (England)
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