2022 Japan Golf Tour season
Duration31 March 2022 (2022-03-31) – 4 December 2022 (2022-12-04)
Number of official events24
Most winsJapan Kazuki Higa (4)
Money listJapan Kazuki Higa
Most Valuable PlayerJapan Kazuki Higa
Rookie of the YearJapan Yuto Katsuragawa
2023

The 2022 Japan Golf Tour was the 49th 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.

Response to LIV Golf

Following a statement produced by the Japan Golf Tour Organization on 1 October 2022, they outlined their position in regards to the ongoing dispute between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour and their alliance; the European Tour (DP World Tour). They stated that it would be beneficial to the Japan Golf Tour that they remained in a neutral position. However, they also came to the conclusion that they could potentially be better off siding with the PGA Tour, giving players in Asia a pathway to playing opportunities in the United States, as the Asian Tour has already struck an amicable relationship with LIV Golf, giving their players playing opportunities in the LIV Golf League via the International Series.[1][2]

In December, a new agreement with the PGA Tour and European Tour was announced. As part of the deal, from 2023 onwards the top three on the Japan Golf Tour's season-ending money list earned status to play on the European Tour for the following season.[3]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2022 season.[4]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(¥)
Winner[lower-alpha 1]OWGR
points
Other
tours[lower-alpha 2]
Notes
3 AprToken Homemate CupMie130,000,000Japan Jinichiro Kozuma (2)16
17 AprKansai Open Golf ChampionshipHyōgo80,000,000Japan Kazuki Higa (3)16
24 AprISPS Handa Championship in JapanIbaraki100,000,000Japan Yuto Katsuragawa (1)16EURNew tournament
1 MayThe CrownsAichi100,000,000Japan Yuki Inamori (3)16
15 MayAsia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond CupIbaraki100,000,000Japan Shugo Imahira (6)15ASA
22 MayGolf Partner Pro-Am TournamentIbaraki50,000,000Japan Shugo Imahira (7)16Pro-Am
29 MayGateway to The Open Mizuno OpenOkayama80,000,000Zimbabwe Scott Vincent (3)16
5 JunBMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building CupIbaraki150,000,000Japan Kazuki Higa (4)16Japan major
12 JunASO Iizuka Challenged Golf TournamentFukuoka100,000,000Japan Tomoyo Ikemura (2)16New tournament
26 JunJapan Players ChampionshipTochigi50,000,000Japan Yuki Inamori (4)16
7 AugJapan PGA ChampionshipShizuoka150,000,000Japan Mikumu Horikawa (3)16Japan major
21 AugShigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy CupHokkaidō120,000,000Japan Hiroshi Iwata (4)7.62
28 AugSansan KBC AugustaFukuoka100,000,000Japan Riki Kawamoto (1)8.08
4 SepFujisankei ClassicYamanashi110,000,000Japan Kaito Onishi (1)7.29
11 SepShinhan Donghae OpenNara₩1,400,000,000Japan Kazuki Higa (5)9.03ASA, KOR
18 SepANA OpenHokkaidō100,000,000Japan Tomoharu Otsuki (2)7.08
25 SepPanasonic Open Golf ChampionshipHyōgo100,000,000Japan Taiga Semikawa (a) (1)7.51
2 OctVantelin Tokai ClassicAichi110,000,000Japan Riki Kawamoto (2)7.36
9 OctFor The Players by The PlayersGunma50,000,000Japan Shintaro Kobayashi (1)4.33New tournament
23 OctJapan Open Golf ChampionshipHyōgo210,000,000Japan Taiga Semikawa (a) (2)8.57Japan major
30 OctHeiwa PGM ChampionshipIbaraki150,000,000Japan Rikuya Hoshino (6)6.11
6 NovMynavi ABC ChampionshipHyōgo120,000,000Japan Mikumu Horikawa (4)6.12
13 NovMitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo MastersShizuoka200,000,000Japan Ryo Ishikawa (18)6.15
20 NovDunlop Phoenix TournamentMiyazaki200,000,000Japan Kazuki Higa (6)9.54
27 NovCasio World OpenKōchi200,000,000United States Chan Kim (8)6.73
4 DecGolf Nippon Series JT CupTokyo130,000,000Japan Hideto Tanihara (17)4.84Japan major

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(¥)
Winner(s)OWGR
points
Other
tours[lower-alpha 2]
Notes
23 JanSMBC Singapore OpenSingaporeUS$1,250,000Thailand Sadom Kaewkanjana14ASA
10 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUS$15,000,000United States Scottie Scheffler100Major championship
22 MayPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$15,000,000United States Justin Thomas100Major championship
19 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesUS$17,500,000England Matt Fitzpatrick100Major championship
17 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotlandUS$14,000,000Australia Cameron Smith100Major championship
16 OctZozo ChampionshipChibaUS$11,000,000United States Keegan Bradley31.39PGAT
11 DecHitachi 3Tours ChampionshipChiba57,000,000Japan Golf Tourn/aTeam event

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[5] The top three players on the money list earned status to play on the 2023 European Tour (DP World Tour).[6][7]

PositionPlayerPrize money (¥)Status earned
1Japan Kazuki Higa181,598,825Promoted to European Tour
2Japan Rikuya Hoshino114,404,050
3Japan Aguri Iwasaki96,670,570
4Japan Mikumu Horikawa95,594,744
5Japan Yuto Katsuragawa87,970,697

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
Most Valuable PlayerJapan Kazuki Higa[8]
Rookie of the Year (Shimada Trophy)Japan Yuto Katsuragawa[8]

Japan Challenge Tour

2022 Japan Challenge Tour season
Duration6 April 2022 (2022-04-06) – 14 October 2022 (2022-10-14)
Number of official events14
Most winsJapan Takashi Ogiso (2)
Japan Yujiro Ohori (2)
Money listJapan Yujiro Ohori
2023

The 2022 Japan Challenge Tour, titled as the 2022 Abema Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2022 season.[9]

DateTournamentLocationPurse
(¥)
Winner[lower-alpha 3]OWGR
points
8 AprNovil CupTokushima15,000,000Japan Yuto Soeda (1)4
22 Apri Golf Shaper ChallengeFukuoka15,000,000Japan Hiroki Tanaka (1)4
27 MayTaiheiyo Club Challenge TournamentSaitama15,000,000Japan Taisei Yamada (1)4
10 JunLandic Challenge 9Fukuoka15,000,000Japan Taiko Nishiyama (1)4
17 JunJapan Create ChallengeFukuoka15,000,000Japan Taiga Semikawa (a) (1)4
25 JunDaisendori CupTottori18,000,000Japan Shota Matsumoto (1)4
23 JulJapan Players Championship ChallengeFukui15,000,000Japan Chisato Takamiya (a) (1)4
29 JulMinami Akita CC Michinoku ChallengeAkita15,000,000Japan Takashi Ogiso (2)4
3 SepDunlop Phoenix Tournament ChallengeFukushima15,000,000Japan Masayuki Yamashita (a) (1)2.13
16 SepPGM ChallengeNiigata15,000,000Japan Yujiro Ohori (2)1.92
23 SepISPS Handa Hero ni nare! Challenge TournamentShizuoka23,000,000Japan Masanori Kobayashi (3)1.98
30 SepElite Grips ChallengeHyōgo15,000,000Japan Takashi Ogiso (3)2.14
7 OctRyo Ishikawa Everyone Project ChallengeTochigi15,000,000Japan Takuya Higa (1)1.82
14 OctDelight Works JGTO FinalIbaraki20,000,000Japan Yujiro Ohori (3)2.57

Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[10][11] The top 20 players on the money list earned status to play on the 2023 Japan Golf Tour.[12]

PositionPlayerPrize money (¥)
1Japan Yujiro Ohori7,798,551
2Japan Takashi Ogiso7,603,935
3Japan Terumichi Kakazu6,315,737
4Japan Taiko Nishiyama4,879,779
5Japan Shota Matsumoto4,870,634

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; PGAT − PGA Tour.
  3. 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

  1. Smith, Ben (2 October 2022). "Japan Golf Tour releases statement about LIV Golf Invitational Series". Golfmagic. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  2. Flushing It [@flushingitgolf] (1 October 2022). "The Japan Golf Tour has released a statement in regard to the PGA Tour v LIV situation" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 October 2022 via Twitter.
  3. Beall, Joel (5 December 2022). "PGA Tour and DP World Tour announce alliance with Japan Golf Tour". Golf Digest. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. "2022 Tour Tournaments". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  5. "2022 Money Ranking". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. "Top-3 Japan Tour Order of Merit finishers to receive DP World Tour membership". News Nine. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  7. "Japan's magnificent seven on the DP World Tour competing at the ISPS Handa Championship". European Tour. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023. Along with Higa and Hoshino, Iwasaki secured his exemption to play on the DP World Tour this season by finishing as one of the top three players on the Japan Golf Tour Money List (not otherwise exempt) last year.
  8. 1 2 "Kazuki Higa tops money list and named Most Valuable Player at JGTO awards ceremony". ParGolf. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023. Rookie Award Shimada Trophy: Yuto Katsuragawa
  9. "2022 Challenge Schedule". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. "2022 Challenge Money Ranking". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  11. "大堀裕次郎が最終戦を制し、逆転賞金王に輝く!" [Yujiro Ohori wins the final match and wins the comeback prize king!] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  12. "Abema Tour 2022 season tees off". Japan Golf Tour Organization. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023. Players who finish inside the top-20 on the money list will earn their main JGTO cards in 2023.
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