2023–24 PGA Tour of Australasia
The 2023–24 PGA Tour of Australasia, titled as the 2023–24 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, was the 50th season on the PGA Tour of Australasia, the main professional golf tour in Australia and New Zealand since it was formed in 1973.
| Duration | 4 May 2023 – 17 March 2024 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 18 |
| Most wins | Kazuma Kobori (3) |
| Order of Merit | Kazuma Kobori |
| Rookie of the Year | Kazuma Kobori |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
Changes for 2023–24
The season marked the return of the PNG Open, being played for the first time since 2019.[1] The Heritage Classic also returned to the schedule, having not been played since 2013.[2]
Challenger title sponsorship
In October 2023, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with Australian investment firm Challenger, being renamed as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.[3]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2023–24 season.[4][5]
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (A$) |
Winner[lower-alpha 1] | OWGR points |
Other tours[lower-alpha 2] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May | PNG Open | Papua New Guinea | 180,000 | Lachlan Barker (1) | 0.39 | ||
| 20 Aug | Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship | Northern Territory | 200,000 | Daniel Gale (2) | 1.07 | ||
| 8 Oct | Nexus Advisernet/Bowra & O'Dea WA Open | Western Australia | 175,000 | Simon Hawkes (2) | 1.14 | ||
| 15 Oct | CKB WA PGA Championship | Western Australia | 250,000 | Ben Eccles (2) | 1.30 | ||
| 22 Oct | Webex Players Series SA | South Australia | 200,000 | Austin Bautista (2) | 1.50 | WANZ | Mixed event |
| 5 Nov | Queensland PGA Championship | Queensland | 250,000 | Phoenix Campbell (a) (1) | 1.69 | ||
| 12 Nov | Gippsland Super 6 | Victoria | 200,000 | Kerry Mountcastle (1) | 1.12 | ||
| 19 Nov | Victorian PGA Championship | Victoria | 250,000 | David Micheluzzi (4) | 1.53 | ||
| 26 Nov | Fortinet Australian PGA Championship | Queensland | 2,000,000 | Min Woo Lee (2) | 13.51 | EUR | |
| 3 Dec | ISPS Handa Australian Open | New South Wales | 1,700,000 | Joaquín Niemann (n/a) | 14.80 | EUR | |
| 14 Jan | Heritage Classic | Victoria | 200,000 | Matthew Griffin (4) | 1.89 | ||
| 21 Jan | Webex Players Series Murray River | Victoria | 250,000 | Kazuma Kobori (2) | 1.47 | WANZ | Mixed event |
| 28 Jan | Webex Players Series Victoria | Victoria | 250,000 | Kazuma Kobori (3) | 2.48 | WANZ | Mixed event |
| 4 Feb | Vic Open | Victoria | 420,000 | Brett Coletta (3) | 3.07 | ||
| 11 Feb | Webex Players Series Sydney | New South Wales | 250,000 | Kazuma Kobori (4) | 2.11 | WANZ | Mixed event |
| 18 Feb | Webex Players Series Hunter Valley | New South Wales | 250,000 | Daniel Gale (3) | 1.67 | WANZ | Mixed event |
| 3 Mar | New Zealand Open | New Zealand | NZ$2,000,000 | Takahiro Hataji (n/a) | 6.63 | ASA | |
| 17 Mar | The National Tournament | Victoria | 200,000 | Cameron John (1) | 2.32 |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (A$) |
Winner | OWGR points |
Other tours[lower-alpha 2] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Dec | Cathedral Invitational | Victoria | 300,000 | Adam Scott | n/a | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[6][7] The top three players on the Order of Merit earned status to play on the 2025 European Tour (DP World Tour).[8]
| Position | Player | Points | Status earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazuma Kobori | 841 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 2 | Daniel Gale | 647 | |
| 3 | Brett Coletta | 604 | |
| 4 | Matthew Griffin | 506 | |
| 5 | David Micheluzzi | 384 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie of the Year | Kazuma Kobori | [9][8] |
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour of Australasia events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour of Australasia members.
- ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour; WANZ − WPGA Tour of Australasia.
References
- "PNG Open returns to kick off 2023 season". PGA of Australia. Australian Golf Media. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- "Heritage Classic returns to PGA Tour of Australasia on three-year deal". PGA of Australia. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- Campbell, Hayden (5 October 2023). "Challenger Investment Firm Secures Exclusive Title Sponsorship Of PGA Tour Australasia". Ministry of Sport. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- "2023/24 Tournament schedule". PGA Tour of Australasia. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- "Min Woo Lee locked in as date set for Fortinet Australian PGA Championship". Australian Golf Digest. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- "2023/24 Order of Merit". PGA Tour of Australasia. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- Webeck, Tony (12 March 2024). "Kobori crowned Order of Merit champion for 2023/2024". PGA of Australia. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- Webeck, Tony (17 March 2024). "Gale, Coletta join Kobori with DP World Tour cards". PGA of Australia. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
Kobori was presented with the Von Nida Medal as Order of Merit champion and the Rookie of the Year trophy at the completion of the season-ending The National Tournament presented by BMW at The National Golf Club on Sunday.
- "2023/24 Rookie of the Year". PGA Tour of Australasia. Retrieved 18 March 2024.