1979 Asia Golf Circuit

The 1979 Asia Golf Circuit was the 18th season of golf tournaments that comprised the Asia Golf Circuit.[1] Overall prize money on the circuit was US$634,000, with three tournaments boasting a US$100,000 purse.[2]

The Philippine Open was withdrawn from the circuit due to non-payment of contributions towards the overall circuit fund, however the tournament did go ahead but did not count for the circuit standings.[3][4] Along with Thailand, the Philippines had also not been forthcoming with their contributions the previous season.[5] After the tournament, the Philippines announced their intention to reschedule the Philippine Open to December and possibly rejoining the circuit with the Philippine Masters, as invitational event which had served as warm-up event for the circuit since its inauguration in 1976,[6] however they ultimately rejoined the circuit for the 1980 season with the same tournament schedules.

Taiwan's Lu Hsi-chuen was the overall circuit champion, having won three tournaments during the season.[2]

Tournament schedule

The table below shows the 1979 Asian Golf Circuit schedule. With the traditional curtain raiser, the Philippine Open, being dropped from the circuit, there were only nine tournaments beginning with the Hong Kong Open.

DateTournamentCountryPrize
fund (US$)		WinnerNotesRefs
8–11 FebPhilippine MastersPhilippinesMyanmar Mya AyeNon-circuit event; unofficial season opener.[7]
15–18 FebPhilippine OpenPhilippines100,000Philippines Ben ArdaNon-circuit event.[6]
22–25 FebHong Kong OpenHong Kong100,000Australia Greg Norman[8]
1–4 MarSingapore OpenSingapore45,000Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen[9]
8–11 MarMalaysian OpenMalaysia54,000Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen[10]
15–18 MarThailand OpenThailand40,000United States Mike Krantz[11]
22–25 MarIndian OpenIndia40,000United States Gaylord BurrowsHeld the same week as the Malaysian Dunlop Masters.[12]
29 Mar – 1 AprIndonesian OpenIndonesia45,000Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen[13]
5–8 AprRepublic of China OpenRepublic of China50,000Taiwan Lu Liang-Huan[14]
12–15 AprKorea OpenSouth Korea60,000Taiwan Shen Chung-shyan[15]
19–22 AprDunlop International OpenJapan100,000Japan Hiroshi IshiiCo-sanctioned with Japan Golf Tour[16]

Final standings

The Asia Golf Circuit operated a points based system to determine the overall circuit champion, with points being awarded in each tournament to the leading players. At the end of the season, the player with the most points was declared the circuit champion, and there was a prize pool to be shared between the top players in the points table.

PlacePlayerPoints
1Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen141.5
2Taiwan Hsu Chi-san

References
  1. Steel, Donald (1987). Golf Records, Facts and Champions. Guinness. pp. 153–155. ISBN 0851128475.
  2. "Taiwan's Lu first rookie to win three golf titles". The Straits Times. Singapore. Reuter. 25 April 1979. p. 32. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  3. "Philippines withdraw from circuit". The Straits Times. Singapore. 12 January 1979. p. 31. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  4. "Lack of competition, so pros leave for PI". The Straits Times. Singapore. 14 February 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  5. McCormack, Mark H. (1979). Dunhill Golf Yearbook 1979. Doubleday Publishing. pp. 227–243, 376–385. ISBN 0385149409.
  6. "New $420,000 PI open". New Nation. AFP. 20 February 1979. p. 17. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  7. "Sporting details | Golf | Philippine Masters". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 February 1979. p. 39. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  8. "Norman ends the Taiwanese run". The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 February 1979. p. 26. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  9. "Master Lu's title after sudden-death with Hsu". The Straits Times. Singapore. 5 March 1979. p. 30. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  10. "Lu shots an ace to coast home by seven strokes". The Straits Times. Singapore. 12 March 1979. p. 28. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  11. "Thailand open to Krantz". The Straits Times. Singapore. 19 March 1979. p. 34. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  12. "Sport in Brief | Burrows' close victory". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 March 1979. p. 38. Retrieved 5 March 2020 – via Trove.
  13. "Master Lu collects his third trophy". The Straits Times. Singapore. 2 April 1979. p. 26. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  14. "It's Lu all the way in Taiwan open". The Straits Times. Singapore. 9 April 1979. p. 29. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  15. "Shen survives to win Korean open". The Straits Times. Singapore. 16 April 1979. p. 26. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
  16. "Veteran Ishii triumphs in Japan Open". The Straits Times. Singapore. 23 April 1979. p. 28. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
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