1962_Far_East_Circuit
1962 Far East Circuit
Golf tour season
The 1962 Far East Circuit was the inaugural season of the Far East Circuit, the main professional golf tour in Asia since it was established in 1961.
| Duration | 8 February 1962 (1962-02-08) – 11 March 1962 (1962-03-11) |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 5 |
| Order of Merit |  Peter Thomson |
1963 → | |
The circuit consisted of five tournaments over five weeks, and was formed from the existing national open championships of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore, along with the inaugural national open championship of Malaysia and the Yomiuri Shimbun sponsored Yomiuri International in Japan. There was a total prize fund of just over M$200,000, which included a bonus pool sponsored by Seagram of M$15,000 for the overall circuit prize.[1][2]
Golfers from around the world participated in the tour,[3] including some of the biggest names in Australian golf,[4] and it was multiple Open Championship winner, Peter Thomson, who emerged as the circuit's first Order of Merit winner.[5]
The following table lists official events during the 1962 season.[1][6]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (US$) | Winner[lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Feb | Philippine Open | Philippines | 11,500 |  Celestino Tugot (1) | |
| 18 Feb | Singapore Open | Singapore | MS$28,000 |  Brian Wilkes (1) | |
| 25 Feb | Malayan Open | Malaya | £A3,000 | Frank Phillips (1) | New tournament |
| 4 Mar | Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | 9,000 | Len Woodward (1) | |
| 11 Mar | Yomiuri International | Japan | 15,000 | Peter Thomson (1) | New tournament |
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using total strokes.[5]
| Position | Player | Strokes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Thomson | 1,405 |
| 2 | Kel Nagle | 1,422 |
| 3 | Frank Phillips | 1,422 |
| 4 |  Bob Charles | 1,430 |
- "Golf's gathering of champions". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 February 1962. p. 18. Retrieved 3 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
- "Big entry for Philippines Open golf next month". Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 9 January 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 3 March 2020 – via National Library Board.
- "Big Prizes For Far East Golf". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 January 1962. p. 20. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via Trove.
- "Record for Far Eastern golf tour". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 January 1962. p. 14. Retrieved 4 March 2020 – via Trove.
- "Far East loot to Aussies". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 12 March 1962. p. 17. Retrieved 3 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Steel, Donald (1987). Golf Records, Facts and Champions. Guinness. pp. 153–155. ISBN 0851128475. Retrieved 16 December 2023 – via Archive.org.