Japan Golf Tour Organization
Current season, competition or edition: 2018 Japan Golf Tour
|
|
| Sport | Golf |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Director | Isao Aoki |
| Country |
 Japan
|
| Most titles |
Masashi Ozaki (94) |
| Official website | JGTO.org |
The Japan Golf Tour is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers 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 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. The JGTO also organises a developmental tour called the Japan Challenge Tour.
Masashi "Jumbo" 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.
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.
The official prize money list on the Japan Golf Tour includes money won by members in the majors and the World Golf Championships events. Through 2009, all of the players who have topped the money list were Japanese nationals, except for the Japanese American David Ishii, but Korean Kim Kyung-tae became the first golfer with non-Japanese origin to top the money list in 2010.
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