Japan Golf Tour
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Japan Golf Tour
Formerlyiiyama Tour
PGA of Japan Tour
SportGolf
Founded1973
FounderPGA of Japan
Inaugural season1973
DirectorIsao Aoki
CountriesBased in Japan[lower-alpha 1]
Most titlesMoney list titles:
Japan Masashi Ozaki (12)
Tournament wins:
Japan Masashi Ozaki (94)
Related
competitions
Japan Challenge Tour
Official websitehttp://www.jgto.org/en

The Japan Golf Tour (Japanese: 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the European Tour. However, since the early 1990s, the growth in prize money has not kept pace with that on the two larger tours. Official events on the Japan Golf Tour count for Official World Golf Ranking points and success on the tour can also qualify members to play in the majors.

Most of the leading players on the tour are Japanese, but players from many other countries also participate. The tour is currently run by the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), which was established in 1999 to separate the tour from the PGA of Japan.[1] The JGTO also organises a developmental tour called the Japan Challenge Tour.

Masashi Ozaki has been the dominant player on tour, leading the career wins list with 94, the career money list with over ¥2 billion and winning the money title twelve times between 1973 and 1998.[2]

Entry to The Open Championship is given to Order of Merit winner and runner-up, Japan Open Golf Championship winner, two players not already exempt from the money list up to the Japan Golf Tour Championship and the top four non-exempt players from the Mizuno Open.

In 2000, the tour signed a title sponsorship agreement with Iiyama, being renamed as the iiyama Tour. The agreement was reported to be worth ¥1,500,000,000 over three years.[3]

In 2008, the tour ventured outside of Japan for the first time, co-sanctioning the Pine Valley Beijing Open in China, alongside the Asian Tour.[4] In 2013, the tour also co-sanctioned two events at the beginning of the year in Thailand and Indonesia with the OneAsia Tour.[5][6]

In December 2022, a new agreement involving the JGTO, 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.[7]

Money list winners

SeasonWinnerPrize money (¥)
2023Japan Keita Nakajima184,986,179
2022Japan Kazuki Higa181,598,825
2020–21United States Chan Kim127,599,803
2019Japan Shugo Imahira (2)168,049,312
2018Japan Shugo Imahira139,119,332
2017Japan Yūsaku Miyazato182,831,982
2016Japan Yuta Ikeda207,901,567
2015South Korea Kim Kyung-tae (2)165,981,625
2014Japan Koumei Oda137,318,693
2013Japan Hideki Matsuyama201,076,781
2012Japan Hiroyuki Fujita175,159,972
2011South Korea Bae Sang-moon151,078,958
2010South Korea Kim Kyung-tae181,103,799
2009Japan Ryo Ishikawa183,524,051
2008Japan Shingo Katayama (5)180,094,895
2007Japan Toru Taniguchi (2)171,744,498
2006Japan Shingo Katayama (4)178,402,190
2005Japan Shingo Katayama (3)134,075,280
2004Japan Shingo Katayama (2)119,512,374
2003Japan Toshimitsu Izawa (2)135,454,300
2002Japan Toru Taniguchi145,440,341
2001Japan Toshimitsu Izawa217,934,583
2000Japan Shingo Katayama177,116,489
1999Japan Naomichi Ozaki (2)137,641,796
1998Japan Masashi Ozaki (12)179,627,400
1997Japan Masashi Ozaki (11)170,847,633
1996Japan Masashi Ozaki (10)209,646,746
1995Japan Masashi Ozaki (9)192,319,800
1994Japan Masashi Ozaki (8)215,468,000
1993Japan Hajime Meshiai148,718,200
1992Japan Masashi Ozaki (7)186,816,466
1991Japan Naomichi Ozaki119,507,974
1990Japan Masashi Ozaki (6)129,060,500
1989Japan Masashi Ozaki (5)108,715,733
1988Japan Masashi Ozaki (4)125,162,540
1987United States David Ishii86,554,421
1986Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima (4)90,202,066
1985Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima (3)101,609,333
1984Japan Shinsaku Maeda57,040,357
1983Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima (2)85,514,183
1982Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima68,220,640
1981Japan Isao Aoki (5)57,262,941
1980Japan Isao Aoki (4)60,532,660
1979Japan Isao Aoki (3)45,554,211
1978Japan Isao Aoki (2)62,987,200
1977Japan Masashi Ozaki (3)35,932,608
1976Japan Isao Aoki40,985,801
1975Japan Takashi Murakami38,705,551
1974Japan Masashi Ozaki (2)41,846,908
1973Japan Masashi Ozaki43,814,000

Multiple money list titles

The following players have won more than one money list title through 2023:

TitlesPlayer
12Japan Masashi Ozaki
5Japan Isao Aoki
Japan Shingo Katayama
4Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima
2Japan Toshimitsu Izawa
Japan Naomichi Ozaki
Japan Toru Taniguchi
South Korea Kim Kyung-tae
Japan Shugo Imahira

Career money leaders

The table shows the top ten career money leaders on the Japan Golf Tour through the 2021 season. The figures shown include money won in the four global major championships from 1998 onwards and in the individual World Golf Championships from 1999 to 2009.

PositionPlayerPrize money (¥)
1Japan Masashi Ozaki2,688,836,653
2Japan Shingo Katayama2,252,278,502
3Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima1,664,953,541
4Japan Toru Taniguchi1,662,207,219
5Japan Naomichi Ozaki1,545,609,713
6Japan Hiroyuki Fujita1,533,257,797
7Japan Yuta Ikeda1,269,641,069
8Japan Hideto Tanihara1,192,142,233
9Japan Katsumasa Miyamoto1,166,981,591
10Australia Brendan Jones1,094,192,410

There is a full list on the Japan Golf Tour's website here.

Awards

SeasonMost Valuable PlayerRookie of the Year
2023Japan Keita NakajimaJapan Keita Nakajima
2022Japan Kazuki HigaJapan Yuto Katsuragawa
2020–21United States Chan KimJapan Takumi Kanaya
2019Japan Shugo Imahira (2)Thailand Jazz Janewattananond
2018Japan Shugo ImahiraJapan Rikuya Hoshino
2017Japan Yūsaku MiyazatoUnited States Chan Kim
2016Japan Yuta IkedaSouth Africa Shaun Norris
2015South Korea Kim Kyung-taeSouth Korea Song Young-han
2014Japan Koumei OdaSouth Korea Kim Seung-hyuk
2013Japan Hideki MatsuyamaJapan Hideki Matsuyama
2012Japan Hiroyuki Fujita (2)Japan Yoshinori Fujimoto
2011South Korea Bae Sang-moonSouth Korea Park Jae-bum
2010Japan Hiroyuki FujitaJapan Shunsuke Sonoda
2009Japan Ryo IshikawaJapan Yuta Ikeda
2008Japan Shingo Katayama (4)Japan Ryo Ishikawa
2007Japan Toru Taniguchi (3)South Korea Lee Seong-ho
2006Japan Shingo Katayama (3)South Korea Lee Dong-hwan
2005Japan Shingo Katayama (2)South Korea Jang Ik-jae
2004Japan Toru Taniguchi (2)Japan Takuya Taniguchi
2003Japan Toshimitsu Izawa (2)Japan Hideto Tanihara
2002Japan Toru TaniguchiAustralia Brendan Jones
2001Japan Toshimitsu IzawaAustralia Scott Laycock
2000Japan Shingo KatayamaUnited States Dean Wilson

Records

See also

Notes

  1. Schedules have also included events in China, Indonesia, South Korea, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

References

  1. "Japan golf touring pros on own". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. 27 January 1999. p. 27. Retrieved 10 April 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Zak, Sean (8 December 2016). "Before Hideki Matsuyama, There Was Jumbo Ozaki". Golf.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. "年間スポンサーのイーヤマ撤退を正式発表" [Official announcement of the withdrawal of annual sponsor iiyama]. Golf Digest Japan (in Japanese). 11 May 2002. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  4. "Aoki tipped to play at Pine Valley Beijing Open". china.org.cn. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  5. "Japan Tour expands OneAsia link". The Sporting News. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  6. Thongsombat, Kittipong (13 December 2012). "Japanese addition for Thai Open". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  7. Beall, Joel (5 December 2022). "PGA Tour and DP World Tour announce alliance with Japan Golf Tour". Golf Digest. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  8. "15-year-old boy captures pro tournament in Japan". Toronto Star. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
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