The 1995 Asian PGA Tour, titled as the 1995 Omega Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural 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.

1995 Asian PGA Tour season
Duration22 June 1995 (1995-06-22) – 21 January 1996 (1996-01-21)
Number of official events18
Most winsTaiwan Lin Keng-chi (3)
Order of MeritTaiwan Lin Keng-chi
Players' Player of the YearTaiwan Lin Keng-chi
Rookie of the YearIndia Arjun Atwal
1996

Omega title sponsorship

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In September, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with Omega SA, being renamed as the Omega Tour. The agreement was reported to be worth US$6,000,000 over three years.[1][2]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 1995 season.[3][4]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(US$)
Winner[a] Notes
25 Jun Asian PGA International Thailand 200,000   Park Nam-sin (1)
2 Jul Canlubang Classic Philippines 150,000   Carlos Espinosa (1)
30 Jul Tournament Players Championship Malaysia 150,000   Lin Keng-chi (1)
13 Aug Volvo Masters of Thailand Thailand 85,000   Zhang Lianwei (1)
27 Aug Yokohama Singapore PGA Championship Singapore 200,000   Lin Keng-chi (2)
3 Sep Passport Open South Korea 300,000   Vijay Singh (n/a)
1 Oct Langkawi Open Malaysia 150,000   Boonchu Ruangkit (1)
8 Oct Gadgil Western Dubai Creek Open UAE 500,000   Robert Willis (1)
15 Oct Merlion Masters Singapore 200,000   Nico van Rensburg (1)
22 Oct Samsung Masters South Korea 500,000   Lin Keng-chi (3)
29 Oct Royal Perak Classic Malaysia 150,000   Gerry Norquist (1)
20 Nov Kenmore Pakistan Masters Pakistan 225,000   Kwon Young-suk (1)
27 Nov Gadgil Western Masters India 500,000   Gaurav Ghei (1)
10 Dec Gadgil Western Vietnam Open Vietnam 150,000   Clay Devers (1)
17 Dec Philippine Classic Philippines 200,000   Jeev Milkha Singh (1)
7 Jan Myanmar Open Myanmar 150,000   Boonchu Ruangkit (2)
14 Jan Omega PGA Championship Hong Kong 500,000   Yeh Chang-ting (1)
21 Jan Asian Matchplay Championship Philippines 200,000   Jeev Milkha Singh (2) Limited-field event

Order of Merit

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The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[1][5]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Lin Keng-chi 177,856
2   Boonchu Ruangkit 173,378
3   Jeev Milkha Singh 154,403
4   Robert Willis 132,642
5   Gaurav Ghei 124,934

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Players' Player of the Year   Lin Keng-chi [1]
Rookie of the Year   Arjun Atwal [6]

Notes

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  1. ^ 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.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Robinson, Spencer (1997). The Official 1997 Asian PGA Yearbook – The Omega Tour. Edinburgh Financial Publishing. pp. 14, 16. ISBN 9627982210.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "First Asian PGA opens". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 June 1995. p. 22. Retrieved 28 February 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Korean snatches APGA opener, Pacto is 7th". Manila Standard. Manila, Philippines. 27 June 1995. p. 21. Retrieved 27 February 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ Robinson, Spencer (15 January 1996). "Boonchu's agony as Lin wins it on Merit". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Atwal in sight of first big victory". South China Morning Post. 14 September 1997. Retrieved 15 November 2023. India's Arjun Atwal, the Omega Tour's Rookie of the Year in 1995…
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