The 2002 Japan Golf Tour, titled as the 2002 iiyama Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th season of the Japan Golf Tour (formerly the PGA of Japan Tour), the main professional golf tour in Japan since it was formed in 1973.
| Duration | 14 March 2002 – 8 December 2002 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 29 |
| Most wins |  Toru Taniguchi (4) |
| Money list | Toru Taniguchi |
| Most Valuable Player | Toru Taniguchi |
| Rookie of the Year |  Brendan Jones |
← 2001 2003 → | |
It was the third season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with Iiyama, that began in 2000.[1]
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 2002 season.[2]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar | Token Corporation Cup | Kagoshima | 100,000,000 | Toru Taniguchi (4) | 16 | |
| 24 Mar | Dydo Drinco Shizuoka Open | Shizuoka | 100,000,000 | Kiyoshi Murota (5) | 16 | |
| 28 Apr | Tsuruya Open | Hyōgo | 100,000,000 | Dean Wilson (5) | 16 | |
| 5 May | The Crowns | Aichi | 120,000,000 | Justin Rose (n/a) | 16 | |
| 12 May | Fujisankei Classic | Shizuoka | 140,000,000 | Nobuhito Sato (7) | 16 | |
| 19 May | Japan PGA Championship | Nara | 110,000,000 | Kenichi Kuboya (3) | 16 | Japan major |
| 26 May | Munsingwear Open KSB Cup | Kagawa | 120,000,000 | Kenichi Kuboya (4) | 16 | |
| 2 Jun | Diamond Cup Tournament | Saitama | 100,000,000 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima (46) | 16 | |
| 9 Jun | JCB Classic Sendai | Miyagi | 100,000,000 | Toru Suzuki (6) | 16 | |
| 23 Jun | Tamanoi Yomiuri Open | Hyōgo | 90,000,000 | Toru Taniguchi (5) | 16 | |
| 30 Jun | Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open | Okayama | 100,000,000 | Dean Wilson (6) | 16 | |
| 7 Jul | Japan Golf Tour Championship iiyama Cup | Tochigi | 120,000,000 | Nobuhito Sato (8) | 16 | Japan major |
| 14 Jul | Juken Sangyo Open Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 90,000,000 | Hur Suk-ho (1) | 16 | |
| 28 Jul | Sato Foods NST Niigata Open Golf Championship | Niigata | 50,000,000 | Yasuharu Imano (3) | 16 | |
| 4 Aug | Aiful Cup | Ishikawa | 120,000,000 | Yasuharu Imano (4) | 16 | |
| 11 Aug | Sun Chlorella Classic | Hokkaidō | 120,000,000 | Christian Peña (1) | 16 | |
| 1 Sep | Hisamitsu-KBC Augusta | Fukuoka | 100,000,000 | Nobumitsu Yuhara (7) | 16 | |
| 8 Sep | Japan PGA Match-Play Championship Promise Cup | Hokkaidō | 80,000,000 | Nobuhito Sato (9) | 16 | |
| 15 Sep | Suntory Open | Chiba | 100,000,000 | Shingo Katayama (11) | 16 | |
| 22 Sep | ANA Open | Hokkaidō | 100,000,000 | Masashi Ozaki (94) | 16 | |
| 29 Sep | Acom International | Ibaraki | 120,000,000 | Toru Taniguchi (6) | 16 | |
| 13 Oct | Georgia Tokai Classic | Aichi | 120,000,000 | Toru Taniguchi (7) | 16 | |
| 20 Oct | Japan Open Golf Championship | Yamaguchi | 120,000,000 | David Smail (1) | 32 | Flagship event[b] |
| 27 Oct | Bridgestone Open | Chiba | 110,000,000 | Scott Laycock (1) | 16 | |
| 3 Nov | Philip Morris K.K. Championship | Hyōgo | 200,000,000 | Brendan Jones (1) | 16 | |
| 17 Nov | Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Shizuoka | 150,000,000 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima (47) | 16 | |
| 24 Nov | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Miyazaki | 200,000,000 | Kaname Yokoo (4) | 44 | |
| 1 Dec | Casio World Open | Kagoshima | 140,000,000 | David Smail (2) | 16 | |
| 8 Dec | Golf Nippon Series JT Cup | Tokyo | 100,000,000 | Shingo Katayama (12) | 16 | Japan major |
Unofficial events
editThe following events were sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse | Winner | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$5,600,000 | Tiger Woods | 100 | Major championship |
| 16 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$6,250,000 | Tiger Woods | 100 | Major championship |
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | £3,800,000 | Ernie Els | 100 | Major championship |
| 18 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$5,500,000 | Rich Beem | 100 | Major championship |
Money list
editThe money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[3][4]
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toru Taniguchi | 145,440,341 |
| 2 | Nobuhito Sato | 130,825,969 |
| 3 | Shingo Katayama | 129,258,019 |
| 4 | Dean Wilson | 97,116,100 |
| 5 | David Smail | 94,103,576 |
Awards
edit| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Toru Taniguchi | [5][6] |
| Rookie of the Year (Shimada Trophy) | Brendan Jones | [5] |
Japan Challenge Tour
edit| Duration | 4 April 2002 – 7 November 2002 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 11 |
| Most wins | Tatsuhiko Ichihara (2) |
| Money list | Tatsuhiko Ichihara |
← 2001 2003 → | |
The 2002 Japan Challenge Tour was the 18th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 2002 season.[7]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) |
Winner[c] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Apr | PRGR Cup (Kanto) | Ibaraki | 10,000,000 | Masayoshi Yamazoe (1) |
| 18 Apr | Kourakuen Cup (1st) | Oita | 10,000,000 | Tatsuhiko Ichihara (1) |
| 10 May | JGTO iiyama Challenge I | Tochigi | 10,000,000 | Shinji Ikeuchi (1) |
| 31 May | JGTO iiyama Challenge II | Mie | 10,000,000 | Nobuhiro Masuda (1) |
| 14 Jun | Aiful Challenge Cup Spring | Hyōgo | 10,000,000 | Satoru Hirota (1) |
| 28 Jun | PGA Cup Challenge | Hiroshima | 10,000,000 | Yuzo Oyama (2) |
| 11 Jul | Kourakuen Cup (2nd) | Chiba | 10,000,000 | Paul Sheehan (1) |
| 13 Sep | Aiful Challenge Cup Autumn | Aomori | 10,000,000 | Tatsuhiko Ichihara (2) |
| 27 Sep | Kasco Cup | Chiba | 10,000,000 | Hideki Haraguchi (1) |
| 4 Oct | PRGR Cup (Kansai) | Hyōgo | 10,000,000 | Hideto Tanihara (1) |
| 7 Nov | Kourakuen Cup (3rd) | Tochigi | 10,000,000 | Mitsuhiro Tateyama (2) |
Money list
editThe money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen.[8] The top 20 players on the money list earned status to play on the 2003 Japan Golf Tour.
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatsuhiko Ichihara | 4,124,935 |
| 2 | Nobuhiro Masuda | 3,860,479 |
| 3 | Paul Sheehan | 3,182,692 |
| 4 | Mitsuhiro Tateyama | 2,700,000 |
| 5 | Satoshi Oide | 2,695,742 |
Notes
edit- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Golf Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Japan Golf Tour members.
- ^ Also a Japan major championship.
- ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Challenge Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Japan Challenge Tour as success at this level usually leads to promotion to the Japan Golf Tour.
References
edit- ^ "年間スポンサーのイーヤマ撤退を正式発表" [Official announcement of the withdrawal of annual sponsor iiyama]. Golf Digest Japan (in Japanese). 11 May 2002. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "2002 Tour Tournaments". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "2002 Money Rankings". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "賞金王争いに決着！ 谷口徹が初のキングの座を決めた" [The battle for the top prize is settled! Toru Taniguchi has decided to become the first king] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 2 December 2002. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ a b "2002年度ジャパンゴルフツアー表彰式" [2002 Japan Golf Tour Awards Ceremony]. Golf Digest Japan (in Japanese). 9 December 2002. Archived from the original on 21 December 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Taniguchi hospitalized with illness". The Japan Times. 15 February 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
Last December, Taniguchi was named the Player of the Year after finishing on top of the 2002 money list…
- ^ "2002 Challenge Schedule". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "2002 Money Ranking". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 30 December 2022.