Korean Tour
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Korean Tour | |
| Formerly | SBS Korean Tour |
|---|---|
| Sport | Golf |
| Founded | 1978 |
| First season | 1978 |
| Countries | Based in South Korea[a] |
| Most titles | Order of Merit titles: Choi Sang-ho (9)Tournament wins:  Choi Sang-ho (43) |
| Official website | www |
The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about US$14 million.
Professional golf in Korea dates back to the mid 20th century. The Korean Professional Golf Championship and the Korean Open were launched in 1958 and the KPGA was founded in 1963. Various other tournaments were created over the following decades.
The KPGA's tours serve as feeders for richer tours around the world. Substantial numbers of Korean golfers have played on the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, and a few have made it onto the PGA Tour or the European Tour. Notable examples include Yang Yong-eun, who was the first Korean to win a men's major golf championship, and K. J. Choi, the first Korean-born PGA Tour winner whose most notable win was the 2011 Players Championship.
In June 2004, the tour signed a title sponsorship agreement with Seoul Broadcasting System, being renamed as the SBS Korean Tour. The agreement was reported to be worth ₩15,000,000,000 over five years.[1]
In December 2022, it was announced by the European Tour that the KPGA had extended their partnership with them and the PGA Tour. As part of the expansion, the leading player on the Korean Tour Order of Merit was given status onto the European Tour for the following season.[2]
Main tour
In 2011, there were 17 events on the main tour. All these tournament have prize funds of at least 300 million won (approximately US$300,000). Four have prize funds of 1 billion won (US$1 million) while the Ballantine's Championship has a prize fund of 2.2 million euros (approximately US$3.1 million). Total prize money for the tour is approximately 12 billion won (US$12 million).
Until 2011, regular Korean Tour events did not carry Official World Golf Ranking points. The first regular tournament to carry World Rankings Points was the 2011 Twayair Open.[3] Korean Tour events carry a minimum of nine OWGR points for the winner, increased from six in 2016.
Other KPGA tours
The KPGA launched a developmental tour in 1999. In 2007 there are two developmental tours. Both of them consist of two-day, 36-hole tournaments, and the dates of the tours do not clash. The Bear River Tour consists of ten tournaments with prize funds of 60 million won (US$60,000) each, and the SBS Golf Calloway Tour has eight tournaments with prize funds of 40 million won (US$40,000) each.
The KPGA also runs a senior tour and a series of events for teaching pros. The Korean Senior Open Golf Championship was launched in 1996.
Women's professional golf has a high profile in South Korea, due to the immense international success of Korean women golfers such as Pak Se-ri since the mid-1990s. There is a separate LPGA of Korea Tour for women.
Order of Merit winners
Multiple winners
| Rank | Player | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choi Sang-ho |
9 | 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 |
| T2 | Choi Gwang-soo |
4 | 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005 |
| K. J. Choi |
1996, 1997, 2002, 2003 | ||
| 4 | Kang Wook-soon |
3 | 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| T5 |  Choi Jin-ho |
2 | 2016, 2017 |
 Kim Seung-hack |
1979, 1980 | ||
| Park Nam-sin |
1988, 1993 | ||
| Yang Yong-eun |
2004, 2006 |
Source:[4]
Awards
Notes
- ^ Schedules have also included events in China and Japan.
References
- ^ "국내골프도 내년부터 '투어시대'" [Domestic golf will also enter the 'tour era' starting next year]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "DP World Tour, PGA Tour announce expansion of relationship with Korea Professional Golfers' Association". European Tour. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Official World Golf Ranking 2011 Week 14" (PDF). 3 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ "KPGA Prize Awards history" (in Korean). KPGA. Retrieved 23 December 2023.