Second PGA Tour in Japan
Second PGA Tour in Japan
Blog Article
The PGA Tour will host the Bakery Classics following the Jojo Championship in Japan.
The PGA Tour announced on the 11th that it will hold a regular competition sponsored by Japanese general consulting firm Bakery at the Yokohama Country Club (CC) starting next year. The event included not only Japanese national player Hideki Matsuyama, but also players who will play on the PGA Tour next year, including Rikuya Hoshino, who played on the European DP World stage this year, and Onishi Kaito, who played on the second-division Conferry Tour.
The PGA Tour, which started with the Jojo Championship at the Narashino Golf Course in Chiba, near Tokyo in 2019, settled down by holding it five times in Japan. Tiger Woods, the "golf emperor," won 82 times, the most on the PGA Tour, in his first competition. However, in the fall of 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue was relocated to Sherwood CC in the U.S., and the PGA Tour in Japan was expected to move away.
The CJ Cup, which was held in Jeju Island, has not been held in Korea since it moved to the U.S. due to the pandemic in 2020. This is because the Korean food boom such as Bibigo dumplings took place in the U.S. due to K-movies and dramas such as "Parasite" and "Squid Game." However, the Jojo Championship returned to Japan in 2021. The main reason was that a Japanese domestic brand that runs a customized clothing brand called Jojo Town was the sponsor.
From left, Daisuke Kitakazu, vice president of Bakery, Yoshiyuki Abe, representative of Bakery, Hideki Matsuyama, vice president of PGA Tour, Christian Hardy, representative of PGA Tour Asia [Photo = PGA Tour]
Hideki Matsuyama, Japan's pride, won the third competition held in 2021. In 2022, the total prize money was raised to 11 million U.S. dollars, but as the PGA Tour returned to a single-year system starting this year, the competition has become an intermediate-sized autumn series since last year. The total prize money was cut by 2.5 million dollars to 8.5 million dollars. As this year's event was also held as a fall series, there were high concerns that the event would disappear.
The Bakery Classic, co-hosted by the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), provides Japanese players with a chance to compete with PGA Tour players. This year, 14 top-ranked JGTO players were merged into 78 players, and as a result, Yuta Sugiura finished sixth. The fact that Japanese players can participate in PGA Tour events in their home country is also a gateway to upgrade to a big stage.
As it will be held as an autumn series, the total prize money for the bakery Classic will not be that big. However, the fact that PGA Tour events are continuing steadily in Japan is very meaningful. The PGA Tour has been operating an Asian branch in Tokyo since 2016. Although there are more Koreans in terms of nationality who play on the PGA Tour, the global market values the Japanese tour and the market more highly.
Yokohama West Course No. 17 Hall, symbolized by Y-shaped pine trees.
"We are pleased to welcome you as a new member of the PGA Tour," said Chris Lee, head of the PGA Tour's Asia branch. "The Yokohama CC is a world-class attraction for evaluating players." The golf course West has hosted the Japanese Open twice and ranked eighth among the top 100 courses in Asia (see Nam Hwa-young's golf course humanities, 22 articles, Yokohama West).
"Together with the PGA Tour, we will be able to further increase our awareness and corporate value at home and abroad through golf, a sport that is loved across borders, generations, and genders," said Yoshiyuki Abe, president of Bakery. Founded in 1998, Bakery is a Tokyo consulting firm that covers various industries including high-tech, media, telecommunications, automobiles, medical care, and finance.
In Korea, the CJ Cup @NineBridge is a regular PGA Tour event sponsored by CJ Group, and has been held at Club NineBridge in Jeju Island for three years since 2017. More than a dozen Korean players have been given the opportunity to participate in the event. However, the event has been relocated to the U.S. since the pandemic. From this year, the event will be held as The CJ Cup @ByronNelson as the operator of the event was changed to the local Byron Nelson Foundation.
Global Korean companies such as CJ Group and Hyundai Motor have become big players to sponsor big events such as PGA Tour and DP World Tour, but overseas tours are gradually shifting to a structure centered on a minority elite. This year alone, the number of Korean players invited to the CJ Cup has sharply decreased, and the tickets for the Korean Tour Grand Prize winners, which had been invited to the Genesis Invitational in February, have disappeared.
Takumi in third place in the final round of PGA Tour qualifying [Photo = Getty Images Korea]
Amid rapidly changing overseas tours, it is time to take a look to see if the door to opportunity is being closed for Korean golfers who want to become a PGA Tour player. The only PGA tour in Asia is steadily opening up in Japan, serving as a ladder for advancement to the big stage. Korean companies provide more money for the PGA tour, but Korean golfers' chances to play in the PGA tour have decreased further.
There have been no PGA Tour players since Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Sung-hyun. The Genesis Championship also saw a significant increase in prize money from last year, but unlike the Korea Championship co-hosted by the DP World Tour, the number of Korean tour participants dropped to 30. Jang Yoo-bin, who dominated the Korean Tour this year, chose to play "Live Golf" instead of the PGA Tour. "Live Golf" will take place in Korea in May next year.
The number of Japanese golfers who will participate in next year's PGA Tour has increased by two, including Hoshino and Kaito. This is due to their experience in more overseas tours. Takumi Kanaya is also highly likely to pass the qualifying series, as she is ranked third in the final match of the ongoing qualifying series. Players who will play next year's PGA Tour will be created through various channels. This is because conditions and environment of the tournament have been changed.
Above all, it is important that the PGA Tour continues to be held in Japan and fans come to the gallery. 스포츠토토 For Korean players and golf fans who dream of becoming a PGA Tour, the PGA Tour that has disappeared from Korea is regrettable.