PGA Tour of Australasia
1516239
205564060
2008-04-14T15:10:15Z
Tewapack
1370770
/* Schedule */
{{TOCright}}
The '''PGA Tour of Australasia''' is a professional [[golf]] tour for men. Official events on the tour count for [[Official World Golf Rankings|World Golf Ranking]] points. The tour was formed in 1973 as the '''PGA Tour of Australia''' and adopted its current name in 1991.
Most of the leading players on the tour are [[Australian]], with a smaller domestic contingent from [[New Zealand]], but players from many other countries all over the world also participate. The very best Australasian players devote most of their time to the [[PGA Tour]] or the [[European Tour]], typically returning home for two or three events each year or even not at all. Therefore the Australasian Tour is a feeder for the larger tours. Some of the leading events are co-sanctioned by the European Tour in order to encourage higher [[Official World Golf Rankings|ranked]] players to enter and to attract more sponsorship. Players with a background on the tour who have reached the [[Official World Golf Rankings|world top 20]] since the turn of the Millennium include [[Steve Elkington]] and [[Adam Scott]]. The leading tournaments on the tour include the [[Australian Open (golf)|Australian Open]], the [[Australian PGA Championship]], the [[Australian Masters]] and the [[New Zealand Open]].
The PGA Tour of Australasia's development tour is the '''Von Nida Tour''' (named after Australian golfer [[Norman Von Nida]]) which features around ten events with purses of around one hundred thousand [[Australian Dollar]]s each. The main tour events take place in the Southern Hemisphere summer, that is late in the calendar year and early in the next one, while the Von Nida Tour events mainly take place in the local spring and autumn. However the money list is calculated for calendar years.
In November 2005 it was reported by the [[BBC]] that the tour was going through difficult times, with the schedule for the 2005/06 summer season reduced to six events, three of them co-sponsored by other tours. The [[Heineken Classic]], which was the richest event in Australasia in 2005, has been cancelled in 2006 due to the withdrawal of the sponsor. One factor in the tour's problems is the rise of the nearby [[Asian Tour]]. The tour chairman [[Wayne Grady]], and player [[Mark Hensby]] both complained that Australia's biggest golf icon [[Greg Norman]], who is a U.S. resident, doesn't do enough to support the tour. Norman dismissed their comments. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/4465568.stm]
==Schedule==
The table below shows the 2008 schedule. It only lists official money events on the main tour. For a complete table of events recognised by the PGA Tour of Australasia, including Von Nida Tour events and [[World Golf Championships]] see the official site. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour of Australasia events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour of Australasia members.
Note that the exact schedule of events due in November and December has not yet been released.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
|-
!Dates
!width="150"|Tournament
!State / Country
!Prize fund
!Winner
![[Official World Golf Ranking|Winner's world<br />ranking points]]
!Notes
|-
|14-17 Feb
|[[New Zealand PGA Championship]]
|[[New Zealand]]
|[[USD]] 650,000
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Darron Stiles]] (N/A)*
| align="center"|12
|Co-sanctioned by the [[Nationwide Tour]]
|-
|21-24 Feb
|[[Moonah Classic]]
|[[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]
|[[AUD]] 850,000
|{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Ewan Porter]] (1)
| align="center"|16
|Co-sanctioned by the [[Nationwide Tour]]
|-
|28 Feb-2 Mar
|[[Johnnie Walker Classic]]
|[[India]]
|[[GBP]] 1,250,000
|{{flagicon|NZL}} [[Mark Brown (golfer)|Mark Brown]] (1)
| align="center"|38
|Co-sanctioned by the [[Asian Tour|Asian]] and [[European Tour]]s
|-
|Nov
|[[HSBC Champions Tournament]]
|[[China]]||[[USD]] 5,000,000
|
| align="center"|
|Co-sanctioned By The [[Asian Tour|Asian]], [[European Tour|European]] and [[Sunshine Tour]]s
|-
|Nov
|[[Mastercard Masters]]
|[[Australia]]
|
|
|
| align="center"|
|-
|Nov
|[[New Zealand Open]]
|[[New Zealand]]
|
|
| align="center"|
|
|-
|Dec
|[[Australian PGA Championship]]
|[[Australia]]
|
|
| align="center"|
|
|-
|Dec
|[[MFS Australian Open]]
|
|
|
| align="center"|
|
|-
|colspan=7|''<small>Source: [http://www.pgatour.com.au/default.asp?s=schedule1]</small>
|}
(* ''Note: The 2008 New Zealand PGA Championship was shortened by 36 holes due to rain. Due to the event's length, this win is counted as unofficial for Stiles, although all prize money earned will count towards the Order of Merit'')
==Order of Merit winners==
*2007 [[Craig Parry]]
*2006 [[Nick O'Hern]]
*2005 [[Adam Scott]]
*2004 [[Richard Green (golfer)|Richard Green]]
*2003 [[Peter Lonard]]
*2002 [[Craig Parry]]
*2000/01 [[Aaron Baddeley]]
*1999/00 [[Michael Campbell]]
*1998/99 [[Jarrod Moseley]]
*1997/98 [[Andrew Coltart]]
*1996/97 [[Peter Lonard]]
*1995 [[Craig Parry]]
*1994 [[Robert Allenby]]
*1993 [[Peter Senior]]
*1992 [[Robert Allenby]]
*1991 [[Rodger Davis]]
'''PGA Tour of Australia'''
*1990 [[Rodger Davis]]
*1989 [[Peter Senior]]
*1988 [[Greg Norman]]
*1987 [[Peter Senior]]
*1986 [[Greg Norman]]
*1985 [[Ossie Moore]]
*1984 [[Greg Norman]]
*1983 [[Greg Norman]]
*1982 [[Bob Shearer]]
*1981 [[Bob Shearer]]
*1980 [[Greg Norman]]
*1979 [[Jack Newton]]
*1978 [[Greg Norman]]
*1977 [[Bob Shearer]]
*1976 [[Mark Lye]]
*1975 [[Bill Dunk]]
*1974 [[Bob Shearer]]
*1973 [[Stewart Ginn]]
==See also ==
* [[2006 PGA Tour of Australasia]]
* [[2007 PGA Tour of Australasia]]
==External links==
* {{cite web | url = http://www.pgatour.com.au/default.asp?s=home | title = Official site }}
{{Men's Professional Golf Tours}}
[[Category:Professional golf tours|Australasia]]
[[Category:Golf in Australia]]
[[Category:Golf in New Zealand]]
[[Category:PGA Tour of Australasia| ]]
[[de:PGA Tour of Australasia]]
[[fr:PGA Tour of Australasia]]
[[no:PGA Tour of Australasia]]
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2007}}