The 1996 Asian PGA Tour, titled as the 1996 Omega Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the second 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.
| Duration | 14 March 1996 – 22 December 1996 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 22 |
| Most wins |  Kang Wook-soon (2) Thammanoon Sriroj (2) |
| Order of Merit | Kang Wook-soon |
| Players' Player of the Year | Boonchu Ruangkit |
| Rookie of the Year |  Jeff Wagner |
← 1995 1997 → | |
It was the second season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with Omega SA, that was announced in September 1995.[1]
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.[2][3]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar | Sabah Masters | Malaysia | 200,000 | Thaworn Wiratchant (1) |
n/a | New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 1 Apr | Singha Thai Prasit Bangkok Open | Thailand | 175,000 | Thammanoon Sriroj (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 21 Apr | Canlubang Classic | Philippines | 175,000 |  Craig Kamps (1) |
n/a | ||
| 28 Apr | Tournament Players Championship | Malaysia | 175,000 | Kang Wook-soon (1) |
n/a | ||
| 5 May | Honda Invitational | Thailand | 300,000 | Steve Elkington (n/a) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 12 May | Guam Open | Guam | 175,000 | Mo Joong-kyung (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 2 Jun | Volvo China Open | China | 400,000 | Prayad Marksaeng (1) |
n/a | New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 11 Aug | Canon Singapore Open | Singapore | 500,000 |  John Kernohan (1) |
n/a | New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 18 Aug | Kuala Lumpur Open | Malaysia | 200,000 | Kang Wook-soon (2) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 25 Aug | Fila Open | South Korea | 300,000 | Kwon Oh-chul (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 1 Sep | Philip Morris Asian Cup | South Korea | 300,000 |  Jeev Milkha Singh (3) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 29 Sep | Lexus International | Thailand | 200,000 | Boonchu Ruangkit (3) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 6 Oct | Yokohama Singapore PGA Championship | Singapore | 200,000 |  Yeh Chang-ting (2) |
n/a | ||
| 18 Oct | Dubai Creek Open | UAE | 350,000 |  Paul Friedlander (1) |
n/a | ||
| 27 Oct | Australian Players Championship | Australia | A$500,000 | Bradley Hughes (n/a) |
16 | ANZ | New to Asian PGA Tour |
| 3 Nov | Alfred Dunhill Masters | Hong Kong | 500,000 |  Bernhard Langer (n/a) |
26 | ANZ | New to Asian PGA Tour |
| 10 Nov | Merlion Masters | Singapore | 175,000 | Peter Teravainen (1) |
n/a | ||
| 17 Nov | Pakistan Steel Masters | Pakistan | 225,000 | Eric Rustand (1) |
n/a | ||
| 1 Dec | Tugu Pratama Indonesian PGA Championship | Indonesia | 250,000 | Thammanoon Sriroj (2) |
n/a | New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 8 Dec | Royal Thai Classic | Thailand | 325,000 | Richard Kaplan (1) |
n/a | New tournament | |
| 15 Dec | Omega PGA Championship | Hong Kong | 500,000 | Gerry Norquist (2) |
n/a | ||
| 22 Dec | Asian Matchplay Championship | Indonesia | 150,000 |  Zhang Lianwei (2) |
n/a | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit edit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[2]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kang Wook-soon |
183,787 |
| 2 | Gerry Norquist |
129,404 |
| 3 | Thammanoon Sriroj |
127,422 |
| 4 | Craig Kamps |
119,512 |
| 5 | Jeff Wagner |
109,570 |
Awards edit
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Year | Kang Wook-soon |
[2] |
| Rookie of the Year | Jeff Wagner |
[2] |
Notes edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia.
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Robinson, Spencer (1997). The Official 1997 Asian PGA Yearbook – The Omega Tour. Edinburgh Financial Publishing. pp. 26–143, 152–153, 158–159. ISBN 9627982210.
- ^ McCormack, Mark H. (1997). The World of Professional Golf 1997. IMG Publishing. pp. 177–187, 553–566. ISBN 1878843176.