The 2018 Japan Golf Tour was the 46th season of the Japan Golf Tour (formerly the PGA of Japan Tour), the main professional golf tour in Japan since it was formed in 1973.
| Duration | 18 January 2018 – 2 December 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 24[a] |
| Most wins |  Kodai Ichihara (2) |
| Money list | Shugo Imahira |
| Most Valuable Player | Shugo Imahira |
| Rookie of the Year | Rikuya Hoshino |
← 2017 2019 → | |
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan | SMBC Singapore Open | Singapore | US$1,000,000 |  Sergio García (n/a) |
28 | ASA | |
| 28 Jan | Leopalace21 Myanmar Open | Myanmar | US$750,000 |  Paul Peterson (1) |
19 | ASA | |
| 15 Apr | Token Homemate Cup | Mie | 130,000,000 | Atomu Shigenaga (1) |
16 | ||
| 22 Apr | Panasonic Open Golf Championship | Osaka | 150,000,000 |  Rahil Gangjee (1) |
15 | ASA | |
| 29 Apr | The Crowns | Aichi | 120,000,000 |  Yang Yong-eun (5) |
16 | ||
| 13 May | Japan PGA Championship | Chiba | 150,000,000 | Toru Taniguchi (20) |
16 | Japan major | |
| 20 May | Kansai Open Golf Championship | Hyōgo | 70,000,000 | Ryuko Tokimatsu (3) |
16 | ||
| 27 May | Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open | Ibaraki | 100,000,000 | Shota Akiyoshi (1) |
16 | ||
| 3 Jun | Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills |
Ibaraki | 150,000,000 | Kodai Ichihara (1) |
16 | Japan major | |
| 24 Jun | Dunlop Srixon Fukushima Open | Fukushima | 50,000,000 | Shota Akiyoshi (2) |
16 | ||
| 8 Jul | Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup | Hokkaidō | 150,000,000 |  Brad Kennedy (3) |
16 | ||
| 26 Aug | RIZAP KBC Augusta | Fukuoka | 100,000,000 | Daijiro Izumida (1) |
16 | ||
| 2 Sep | Fujisankei Classic | Yamanashi | 110,000,000 | Rikuya Hoshino (1) |
16 | ||
| 9 Sep[d] | ISPS Handa Match Play | Saitama | 230,000,000 |  Thanyakon Khrongpha (1) |
16 | ||
| ANA Open | Hokkaidō | – | Cancelled[e] | – | |||
| 23 Sep | Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Golf | Saitama | 150,000,000 | Yuta Ikeda (20) |
15 | ASA | |
| 30 Sep | Top Cup Tokai Classic | Aichi | 110,000,000 |  Angelo Que (1) |
16 | ||
| 14 Oct | Japan Open Golf Championship | Kanagawa | 200,000,000 | Yuki Inamori (1) |
32 | Flagship event[f] | |
| 21 Oct | Bridgestone Open | Chiba | 150,000,000 | Shugo Imahira (2) |
16 | ||
| 28 Oct | Mynavi ABC Championship | Hyōgo | 150,000,000 | Yuta Kinoshita (1) |
16 | ||
| 4 Nov | Heiwa PGM Championship | Okinawa | 200,000,000 |  Shaun Norris (3) |
16 | ||
| 11 Nov | Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Shizuoka | 200,000,000 | Tatsunori Nukaga (1) |
18 | ||
| 18 Nov | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Miyazaki | 200,000,000 | Kodai Ichihara (2) |
30 | ||
| 25 Nov | Casio World Open | Kōchi | 200,000,000 | Choi Ho-sung (2) |
16 | ||
| 2 Dec | Golf Nippon Series JT Cup | Tokyo | 130,000,000 | Satoshi Kodaira (7) |
17 | Japan major |
Unofficial events
editThe following events were sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) |
Winner(s) | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$11,000,000 | Patrick Reed |
100 | Major championship | |
| 6 May | Legend Charity Pro-Am | Chiba | 50,000,000 | Shugo Imahira |
n/a | Pro-Am | |
| 17 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$12,000,000 | Brooks Koepka |
100 | Major championship | |
| 22 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | US$10,500,000 |  Francesco Molinari |
100 | Major championship | |
| 12 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$11,000,000 | Brooks Koepka |
100 | Major championship | |
| 9 Dec | Hitachi 3Tours Championship | Chiba | 57,000,000 | Japan PGA Senior Tour | n/a | Team event |
Money list
editThe money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[3][4]
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shugo Imahira |
139,119,332 |
| 2 | Shaun Norris |
103,942,450 |
| 3 | Yuki Inamori |
85,301,742 |
| 4 | Kodai Ichihara |
82,245,918 |
| 5 | Yuta Ikeda |
79,671,825 |
Awards
edit| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Shugo Imahira |
[5] |
| Rookie of the Year (Shimada Trophy) | Rikuya Hoshino |
[5] |
Japan Challenge Tour
edit| Duration | 30 March 2018 – 26 October 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 12 |
| Most wins | Taihei Sato (2) |
| Money list | Taihei Sato |
← 2017 2019 → | |
The 2018 Japan Challenge Tour, titled as the 2018 AbemaTV Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 34th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.
AbemaTV title sponsorship
editIn January, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with AbemaTV, being renamed as the AbemaTV Tour.[6]
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[7]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) |
Winner[g] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr | Novil Cup | Tokushima | 15,000,000 | Park Bae-jong (1)
|
| 20 Apr | i Golf Shaper Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Naoto Takayanagi (1)
|
| 27 Apr | Japan Create Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Shoji Kawai (1)
|
| 18 May | Heiwa PGM Challenge I Road to Championship | Ibaraki | 15,000,000 | Keisuke Kondo (1)
|
| 8 Jun | ISPS Handa Challenge Cup | Chiba | 20,000,000 | Ryosuke Kinoshita (1)
|
| 22 Jun | Landic Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Taihei Sato (1)
|
| 29 Jun | Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge | Akita | 15,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (1)
|
| 14 Sep | Heiwa PGM Challenge II Road to Championship | Tottori | 15,000,000 | Dodge Kemmer (1)
|
| 21 Sep | Elite Grips Challenge | Hyōgo | 15,000,000 | Taihei Sato (2)
|
| 6 Oct | Ryo Ishikawa Everyone Project Challenge | Tochigi | 15,000,000 | Taiji Maekawa (1)
|
| 19 Oct | Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament | Saitama | 15,000,000 | Tomohiro Umeyama (2)
|
| 26 Oct | JGTO Novil Final | Ibaraki | 15,000,000 | Yuki Kono (3)
|
Money list
editThe money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[8][9] The top 20 players on the money list earned status to play on the 2019 Japan Golf Tour.[10]
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taihei Sato |
7,256,163 |
| 2 | Tomohiro Umeyama |
5,338,803 |
| 3 | Naoto Takayanagi |
4,813,256 |
| 4 | Ryosuke Kinoshita |
4,251,987 |
| 5 | Takaya Onoda |
3,736,339 |
Notes
edit- ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Golf Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Japan Golf Tour members.
- ^ a b ASA − Asian Tour.
- ^ First two rounds played in July.
- ^ Cancelled due to the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.[2]
- ^ Also a Japan major championship.
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Challenge Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Japan Challenge Tour as success at this level usually leads to promotion to the Japan Golf Tour.
References
edit- ^ "2018 Tour Tournaments". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "「平成30年北海道胆振東部地震」の影響によりANAオープンが開催中止" [ANA Open canceled due to the influence of the "30 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake"] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "2018 Money Rankings". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "ジャパンゴルフツアー表彰式を開催" [Japan Golf Tour Award Ceremony held] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
華やかな受賞式の最後は、賞金王がスピーチするのが恒例だ。賞金ランキング賞のほかに、...
[At the end of the glamorous awards ceremony, it is customary for the prize king to give a speech. In addition to the prize money ranking award...] - ^ a b "部門別ランキング賞、受賞者とスポンサー一覧" [Category Ranking Awards, List of Winners and Sponsors] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
最優秀選手賞 今平周吾... 最優秀新人賞 島田トロフィ 星野陸也
[Most Valuable Player Award: Shugo Imahira... Best Newcomer Award Shimada Trophy: Rikuya Hoshino] - ^ "ス 「AbemaTV」がJGTO主催「チャレンジトーナメント」との年間特別スポンサー契約を締結 現「チャレンジトーナメント」から「AbemaTVツアー」へ名称を変更" ["AbemaTV" signs annual special sponsorship agreement with "Challenge Tournament" sponsored by JGTO Changed name from "Challenge Tournament" to "AbemaTV Tour"] (in Japanese). Abema. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "2018 Challenge Schedule". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "2018 Challenge Money Ranking". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ "AbemaTVツアー元年の賞金王は佐藤大平" [The prize money king of the first year of the AbemaTV tour is Taihei Sato] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "2019年のツアー前半戦出場権の結果は？" [What are the results of qualifying for the first half of the 2019 Tour?] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
2019年度からツアートーナメントの出場資格が変更になり、賞金ランキング上位19名の選手（ランキング1位選手は除く）には2019年の第1回リランキングまでのツアートーナメント出場権を得ることが出来るようになった。
[From 2019, the eligibility for tour tournaments has changed, and the top 19 players in the prize money ranking (excluding the first ranked player) will be able to qualify for the tour tournament until the first reranking in 1.]