Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

Andy Ogletree [LEFT] and Miguel Tabuena [RIGHT] finished first and second respectively on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. O n any given Sunday on the Asian Tour, the purpose for its existence is well and truly driven home. Edge of your seat sudden-death play-offs, mixed with narrow, nail-biting finishes in regulation play or dominant victories, that simply inspire, are always the order of the day. And in 2023, not a single Sunday, except for the Qualifying School, which ended on Saturday, failed to register on the Richter scale – asking the question: was this the Asian Tour’s greatest season ever? Andy Ogletree, champion of both the Asian Tour and The International Series Order of Merits, was most definitely in the dominant category, in fact after his win at the International Series England he admitted: “I like to dominate golf tournaments!” He first caught the eye by impressively winning the International Series Egypt by four shots towards the end of 2022 – for his first win in the play for pay game – and that proved to be a fulcrummoment as in 2023 his career simply took off. In 11 starts on the Asian Tour, he won twice, at the International Series Qatar in February and August’s International Series England and had five other top-10 finishes. He played every weekend and only twice finished outside the top-16. He triumphed in Qatar by the comfortable cushion of three while in England he was victorious by the clear margin of seven strokes. It all added up to him winning the Asian Tour merit list with 2,128.26 points, nearly double the tally of second-placed Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines. ASIAN TOUR 2023: A CANDIDATE FOR THE GREATEST SEASON EVER The International Series was his primary focus. The Series boasts 10 events, each year, that are part of the Asian Tour schedule but offer superior prizemoney, and are played at world-class destinations, occasionally beyond the Asian Tour’s normally range, as was the case in 2023 with a two-week UK Swing for the International Series England, at Close House in Newcastle, followed the week after by the St Andrews Bay Championship in Scotland, at Fairmont St Andrews. The Series has its own Merit list, which 7