The Ladies Asian Tour is a women's professional golf tour established in 2022 and successor to the Ladies Asia Golf Circuit which ran 1983–2004 and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour which ran 2005–2021. The successive tours have been sanctioned by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation since its inception as an official Asian ladies' tour.[2]
| Formerly | Ladies Asia Golf Circuit (1983–2004) Ladies Asian Golf Tour (2005–2021) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Golf |
| Founded | 1983[1] |
| Country | Thailand Singapore Malaysia Indonesia India Hong Kong Taiwan Japan China Philippines Macau |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong (former) Japan (former)[2] Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| Confederation | Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation International Golf Federation |
| Official website | LAT |
Background
editBy 2005 there were five established women's professional tours in the world, of which two were in Asia, namely the LPGA of Japan Tour and the LPGA of Korea Tour. Japan and South Korea are two of the top three powers in women's professional golf, alongside the United States. The Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) is effectively a tour for the rest of Asia. This is comparable to the position in men's golf, where Japan has its own Japan Golf Tour and the rest of Asia has the Asian Tour. Most of the players on the tour come from Asia, but there are also representatives of various other parts of the world. Like the other major golf tours, LAGT has been a professional member of the International Golf Federation.[1]
History
editLadies Asia Golf Circuit
editBetween 1987–2003 the tour was known as the Kosaido Ladies Asia Golf Circuit as the main sponsor was the Kosaido Company of Japan, and prize money was in the range of $50,000–70,000. The company terminated its sponsorship due to the passing of its Chairman, Mr. Yoshiaki Sakurai in 2003.[2]
Ladies Asian Golf Tour
editIn 2005 the tour was reorganized as the Ladies Asian Golf Tour by Koichi Kato,[3] and the first event after the restart was the Phuket Thailand Ladies Masters, which was played on 15-17 December 2005 with a $100,000 purse. In 2006 there were five tournaments with combined prize money of US$410,000, and five again in 2007, with total prize money of US$590,000.[2] Between 2011 and 2014 most of the touräs events were co-sanctioned tournaments organized by the Taiwan LPGA Tour. With the only remaining tournaments of the tour, the Hong Kong Ladies Open and Hero Women's Indian Open, cancelled for several seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour's activity came to a halt.[4]
Ladies Asian Tour
editIn 2022, the Asian Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) established a new Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) Series, which kicked off in June with the 36th Korea Women's Open. The LAT Series, through the Asia Pacific Golf Platform (APGP), organized seven tournaments across the Asia Pacific region in 2023, with plans to expand to 10 events in 2024.[5]
Schedule and results – Kosaido Ladies Asia Golf Circuit (1987–2004)
editSource:[2]
Schedule and results – Ladies Asian Golf Tour (2005–2021)
editSource:[2]
Schedule and results – Ladies Asian Tour (2022–)
edit2022 season
edit| Dates | Tournament | Location | Winner(s) | Prize fund | WWGR | Main tour[a] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun | DB Group Korea Women's Open | South Korea | ₩1,300,000,000 | 26 | KLPGA | ||
| 20 Aug | Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Individual | Indonesia | US$500,000 | – | [7] | ||
| Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Team | US$250,000 | – | [8] | ||||
| 2 Oct | Hana Financial Group Championship | South Korea | ₩1,500,000,000 | 20.5 | KLPGA | ||
| 11 Dec | Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open[b] | Singapore | ₩1,000,000,000 | 19.5 | KLPGA | [9] |
2023 season
edit| Dates | Tournament | Location | Winner(s) | Prize fund | WWGR | Main tour[a] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun | DB Group Korea Women's Open | South Korea | ₩1,300,000,000 | 26 | KLPGA | ||
| 24 Sep | Hana Financial Group Championship | South Korea | ₩1,500,000,000 | 20.5 | KLPGA | ||
| 23 Dec | Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Individual | Indonesia | US$550,000 | – | |||
| Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Team | US$200,000 | – |
2024 season
edit| Dates | Tournament | Location | Winner(s) | Prize fund | WWGR | Main tour[a] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Mar | Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open | Singapore | S$1,100,000 | 18.5 | KLPGA | [10] | |
| 16 Jun | DB Group Korea Women's Open | South Korea | ₩1,200,000,000 | 26 | KLPGA | ||
| 15 Sep | Golfzon China Open | China | CN¥ 5,000,000 | ||||
| 29 Sep | Hana Financial Group Championship | South Korea | ₩1,500,000,000 | KLPGA | |||
| Nov | Philippines Ladies Open | Philippines | US$300,000 | TLPGA | |||
| 7 Dec | Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Individual | Indonesia | – | ||||
| Simone Asia Pacific Cup – Team | – |
- ^ a b c JLPGA − LPGA of Japan Tour; KLPGA − LPGA of Korea Tour; LET − Ladies European Tour; TLPGA − Taiwan LPGA Tour; ThaiLPGA − Thai LPGA Tour
- ^ Reduced to 36 holes due to weather conditions.
Order of Merit winners
editLadies Asian Golf Tour
edit| Year | Player | Country | Events | Earnings (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras | 1 | 13,216 | |
| 2016 | Leticia Ras-Anderica | 2 | 7,581 | |
| 2015 | Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul | 3 | 25,777 | |
| 2014 | Pornanong Phatlum | 1 | 82,500 | |
| 2013 | Pornanong Phatlum | 3 | 116,295 | |
| 2012 | Patcharajutar Kongkraphan | 10 | 87,966 | |
| 2011 | Yani Tseng | 1 | 62,550 | |
| 2010 | Lee-Anne Pace | 3 | 88,330 | |
| 2009 | Bo-Mi Suh | 2 | 48,500 | |
| 2008 | Hee-Kyung Seo | 1 | 45,000 | |
| 2007 | Na Da-ye | 2 | 44,500 | |
| 2006 | Eun-Hee Ji | 3 | 28,845 |
Source:[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Ladies Asian Golf Tour". International Golf Federation. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "History". Ladies Asian Golf Tour. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Koichi Kato" (PDF). LAGT. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Postponement" (PDF). Ladies Asian Golf Tour. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Lydia Ko talks engagement, future plans ahead of inaugural Simone Asia Pacific Cup in Indonesia". Golfweek. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Blomqvist One Back Monnet-Melocco Wins Car". Golfchannel. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Simone Asia Pacific Cup returns to Indonesia for second edition in December". Golf Matters. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Simone Asia Pacific Cup: Philippines' Princess Mary Superal in breakout win". South China Morning Post. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Ji Young Park wins after 36 holes in weather-shortened event". Singapore Golf Association. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Kim Jae-hee wins KLPGA Hana Financial Group Open in Singapore". Korea JoongAng Daily. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Ladies Asian Golf Tour: Order of Merit". Retrieved May 2, 2013.
External links
edit- Official website – LAT
- Official website – LAGT