Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

A S I AN TOUR 202 3 : A CANDI DATE FOR THE GR E ATE ST SE A SON EV ER Rookie of the Year Taichi Kho [ABOVE] with his Asian Games gold medal, and Denwit Boriboonsub [FAR RIGHT] following his win at the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund. in 2024 was renamed The International Series Rankings, and the player who tops the standings earns a much-coveted place on the ensuing season’s LIV Golf League. Ogletree played all 10 events, as well as the star-studded season opening PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers and made every second count. He ran away with The International Series merit list amassing US$1.1 million in earnings, almost twice the prize money won by second-placed Spaniard David Puig. Said Ogletree: “The plan coming into the season, and all along, was to win and get back on LIV Golf. I managed to do that, which was very satisfying. I had a great schedule to play on the Asian Tour and I’ll cherish this year forever. “I treated every tournament I played as if it was a Major championship. That was the only thing we thought about and talked about. I had just one aim. I won towards the end of last season in Egypt and had a lot of momentum going into the off-season and was able to develop some good plans with my trainer (Kolby Tullier) and my swing coach (Tony Ruggiero).” The breathtaking performance meant it was a mere formality for his peers to unanimously vote for him as the Kyi Hla Han Player of the Year on the Asian Tour – the first year that the Players’ Player of the Year Award had been named after the Asian Tour’s former OOM champion, who later became the circuit’s Executive Chairman. In total 23 events were staged in 2023, offering the princely sum of US$35million in overall prizemoney, and 15 nations were visited, including three in the Middle East and two in Europe. Tabuena securing second place on the Asian Tour merit list, for many people, was also one of the highlights of the season. His victory in The DGC Open presented by Mastercard earlier on in the year was his first success in just over four years and was a remarkable result considering it came off the back of a painful 2022. He’d had to deal with the trauma of 8