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.
| Duration | 5 March 1998 – 13 December 1998 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 19 |
| Most wins |  Kang Wook-soon (2) Chris Williams (2) |
| Order of Merit | Kang Wook-soon |
| Players' Player of the Year | Chris Williams |
| Rookie of the Year |  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 edit
The following table lists official events during the 1998 season.[2][3]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) |
Winner[a] | Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar | London Myanmar Open | Myanmar | 200,000 |  Taimur Hussain (1) |
||
| 15 Mar | Classic Indian Open | India | 300,000 |  Firoz Ali (1) |
New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 5 Apr | China Orient Masters | China | 200,000 |  Chawalit Plaphol (1) |
New tournament | |
| 19 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | 400,000 | Ed Fryatt (1) |
||
| 3 May | Macau Open | Macau | 200,000 |  Satoshi Oide (1) |
New tournament | |
| 17 May | Guam Open | Guam | 200,000 |  Jerry Smith (1) |
||
| 24 May | Fila Open | South Korea | 150,000 | Robert Huxtable (1) |
KOR | |
| 9 Aug | Sabah Masters | Malaysia | 150,000 |  Simon Yates (1) |
||
| 16 Aug | Volvo Masters of Malaysia | Malaysia | 200,000 | Chris Williams (1) |
||
| 23 Aug | Ericsson Singapore Open | Singapore | 500,000 | Shaun Micheel (1) |
||
| 20 Sep | Kolon Sports Korea Open | South Korea | ₩350,000,000 | Kim Dae-sub (a) (1) |
KOR | New to Asian PGA Tour |
| 18 Oct | Kuala Lumpur Open | Malaysia | 200,000 | Nico van Rensburg (2) |
||
| 25 Oct | FedEx PGA Championship | Singapore | 150,000 | Chris Williams (2) |
New tournament | |
| 1 Nov | Ericsson Classic | Taiwan | 200,000 |  Lu Wen-teh (1) |
New tournament | |
| 8 Nov | Hero Honda Masters | India | 200,000 | Jyoti Randhawa (1) |
||
| 15 Nov | Thailand Open | Thailand | 200,000 | James Kingston (1) |
New to Asian PGA Tour | |
| 29 Nov | Perrier Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | 300,000 | Kang Wook-soon (3) |
||
| 6 Dec | Omega PGA Championship | Hong Kong | 500,000 | Kang Wook-soon (4) |
||
| 13 Dec | Volvo Asian Matchplay | China | 200,000 | Gerry Norquist (4) |
Limited-field event |
Order of Merit edit
The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[4][5]
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 edit
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Players' Player of the Year | Chris Williams |
[5] |
| Rookie of the Year | Ed Fryatt |
[5] |
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.
- ^ KOR − Korean Tour.
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.
- ^ "Tournament schedule 1998 season". Asian Tour. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "1998 Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit". Asian Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ 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)