The 2018 Asian Tour was the 24th season of the modern Asian Tour (formerly the Asian PGA Tour), the main professional golf tour in Asia (outside of Japan) since it was established in 1995.
Changes for 2018
In February, Habitat for Humanity announced that they had partnered with the Asian Tour to see the Order of Merit rebranded as the Habitat for Humanity Standings.[1]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[2]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan | SMBC Singapore Open | Singapore | 1,000,000 |  Sergio García (5) |
28 | JPN | |
| 28 Jan | Leopalace21 Myanmar Open | Myanmar | 750,000 |  Paul Peterson (1) |
19 | JPN | |
| 4 Feb | Maybank Championship | Malaysia | 3,000,000 |  Shubhankar Sharma (2) |
38 | EUR | |
| 11 Feb | ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth | Australia | A$1,750,000 |  Kiradech Aphibarnrat (3) |
23 | ANZ, EUR | |
| 4 Mar | ISPS Handa New Zealand Open | New Zealand | NZ$1,150,000 |  Daniel Nisbet (1) |
15 | ANZ | New to Asian Tour |
| 11 Mar | Hero Indian Open | India | 1,750,000 |  Matt Wallace (n/a) |
22 | EUR | |
| 22 Apr | Panasonic Open Golf Championship | Japan | ¥150,000,000 | Rahil Gangjee (2) |
15 | JPN | |
| 29 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | CN¥20,000,000 |  Alexander Björk (n/a) |
32 | EUR | |
| 6 May | GS Caltex Maekyung Open | South Korea | ₩1,000,000,000 |  Park Sang-hyun (1) |
12 | KOR | |
| 12 May | AB Bank Bangladesh Open | Bangladesh | 300,000 | Malcolm Kokocinski (1) |
14 | ||
| 20 May | Asia-Pacific Classic | China | 300,000 | John Catlin (1) |
10 | CHN | New tournament |
| 10 Jun | Thailand Open | Thailand | 300,000 | Panuphol Pittayarat (2) |
14 | ||
| 24 Jun | Kolon Korea Open | South Korea | ₩1,200,000,000 | Choi Min-chel (1) |
12 | KOR | |
| 1 Jul | Queen's Cup | Thailand | 300,000 | Jazz Janewattananond (2) |
14 | ||
| 7 Jul | Sarawak Championship | Malaysia | 300,000 | John Catlin (2) |
14 | New tournament | |
| 15 Jul | Bank BRI Indonesia Open | Indonesia | 500,000 |  Justin Harding (1) |
14 | ||
| 29 Jul | Royal Cup | Thailand | 500,000 | Justin Harding (2) |
14 | New tournament | |
| 5 Aug | Fiji International | Fiji | A$1,250,000 | Gaganjeet Bhullar (9) |
15 | ANZ, EUR | |
| 12 Aug | TAKE Solutions Masters | India | 350,000 | Viraj Madappa (1) |
14 | PGTI | |
| 16 Sep | Shinhan Donghae Open | South Korea | ₩1,200,000,000 | Park Sang-hyun (2) |
12 | KOR | |
| 23 Sep | Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Golf | Japan | ¥150,000,000 |  Yuta Ikeda (n/a) |
15 | JPN | |
| 30 Sep | Mercuries Taiwan Masters | Taiwan | 850,000 |  Adilson da Silva (1) |
14 | ||
| 7 Oct | Yeangder Tournament Players Championship | Taiwan | 500,000 | John Catlin (3) |
14 | ||
| 14 Oct | CIMB Classic | Malaysia | 7,000,000 | Marc Leishman (n/a) |
48 | PGAT | Limited-field event |
| 14 Oct | UMA CNS Open | Pakistan | 300,000 | Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (1) |
14 | ||
| 28 Oct | Panasonic Open India | India | 400,000 | Khalin Joshi (1) |
14 | PGTI | |
| 25 Nov | Honma Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | 2,000,000 | Aaron Rai (n/a) |
30 | EUR | |
| 2 Dec | Queen's Cup | Thailand | 500,000 |  Miguel Tabuena (2) |
14 | ||
| 2 Dec | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 | Kurt Kitayama (1) |
17 | AFR, EUR | |
| Ho Tram Players Championship | Vietnam | – | Removed | – | |||
| 9 Dec | South African Open | South Africa | R17,500,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (3) |
32 | AFR, EUR | New to Asian Tour |
| 16 Dec | BNI Indonesian Masters | Indonesia | 750,000 | Poom Saksansin (3) |
24 | Flagship event |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was titled as the Habitat for Humanity Standings and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[3][4] The leading player on the Order of Merit (not otherwise exempt) earned status to play on the 2019 European Tour.[5]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) | Status earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shubhankar Sharma |
755,994 | Already exempt[d] |
| 2 | Park Sang-hyun |
566,212 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 3 | Justin Harding |
479,817 | |
| 4 | Gaganjeet Bhullar |
422,936 | Already exempt[d] |
| 5 |  Scott Vincent |
420,887 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Year | John Catlin |
[8] |
| Rookie of the Year | Park Sang-hyun |
[8][5] |
See also
Notes
- ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was removed from the schedule.
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian Tour members.
- ^ AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; CHN − China Tour; EUR − European Tour; JPN − Japan Golf Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; PGAT − PGA Tour; PGTI − Professional Golf Tour of India.
- ^ a b Sharma and Bhullar were already exempt due to being tournament winners on the 2018 European Tour.[6][7]
References
- ^ "Game for Asian Tour partnership". Habitat for Humanity. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Tournament schedule 2018 season". Asian Tour. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "2018 Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings". Asian Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Shubhankar becomes youngest Indian to win Asian Order of Merit". ESPN. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
With a total prize money of $755,994 on the Asian Tour for 2018, Sharma's Order of Merit win was confirmed on Friday, after both Justin Harding of South Africa and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe failed to make the cut at the South African Open in Johannesburg, leaving both adrift by nearly $300,000 on the Asian Tour.
- ^ a b "박상현, 아시안투어 신인상 수상…유러피언투어 출전권도 획득" [Park Sang-hyun, Asian Tour Rookie Award winner... Qualified to play on the European Tour] (in Korean). KPGA. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Shubhankar Sharma secures maiden win at Joburg Open". Today's Golfer. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "Fiji International: Gaganjeet Bhullar claims maiden European Tour win". Sky Sports. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Catlin caps off 2018 with Asian Tour Players' Player of the year accolade". Big Golf Blog. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
John Catlin's outstanding breakout year has not gone unnoticed by his peers, as he has been named the Players' Player of the Year for the 2018 Asian Tour season... Sanghyun Park was awarded the Rookie of the Year.
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