1997 Korean Tour

Golf tour season

1997 Korean Tour season
Duration	16 April 1997 (1997-04-16) – 28 September 1997 (1997-09-28)
Number of official events	11
Most wins	K. J. Choi (3)
Order of Merit	K. J. Choi
Player of the Year	K. J. Choi
Rookie of the Year	Mo Joong-kyung
← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 Korean Tour was the 20th season on the Korean Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Korea since it was formed in 1978.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1997 season.^[1]

Date	Tournament	Location	Purse (₩)	Winner^[a]	OWGR points	Other tours^[b]	Notes
19 Apr	Cambridge Members Open	Gyeonggi	200,000,000	Park Nam-sin (13)	n/a
4 May	Maekyung LG Fashion Open	Gyeonggi	US$400,000	Shin Yong-jin (3)	12	AGC
25 May	Phantom Open	South Gyeongsang	150,000,000	K. J. Choi (3)	n/a
1 Jun	Hyundai Motor Masters	Gyeonggi	US$500,000	Ian Woosnam (n/a)	n/a		New tournament
8 Jun	SK Telecom Classic	South Gyeongsang	350,000,000	Park No-seok (1)	n/a		New tournament
22 Jun	Astra Cup KPGA Championship	Gyeonggi	150,000,000	K. J. Choi (4)	n/a
28 Jun	Daily Sports Pocari Open	Gyeonggi	200,000,000	K. J. Choi (5)	n/a
30 Aug	Superior Open	Gyeonggi	200,000,000	Park No-seok (2)	n/a
7 Sep	Shinhan Donghae Open	Gyeonggi	360,000,000	Ed Fryatt (n/a)	n/a
14 Sep	Lacoste SBS Pro Golf Championship	Gyeonggi	140,000,000	Park Nam-sin (14)	n/a
28 Sep	Elord Korea Open	Gyeonggi	US$400,000	Kim Jong-duck (6)	n/a

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in South Korean won.^[2]^[3]

Position	Player	Prize money (₩)
1	K. J. Choi	159,063,640
2	Park Nam-sin	149,334,320
3	Park No-seok	139,863,958
4	Kim Jong-duck	126,256,288
5	Shin Yong-jin	125,146,380

Awards

Award	Winner	Ref.
Player of the Year (Grand Prize Award)	K. J. Choi	^[4]^[5]
Rookie of the Year (Myeong-chul Award)	Mo Joong-kyung	^[4]^[6]

Notes

^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Korean Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Korean Tour members.
^ AGC − Asia Golf Circuit.

References

^ Kim, Jong-gil (5 January 1997). "그린에는 불황이 없어 골프대회 늘어만 가" [There is no recession on the greens, and the number of golf tournaments is increasing.]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
^ "1997 Order of Merit" (in Korean). KPGA. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
^ "국내 남자골프 최경주-박노석 시대" [Korean men's golf Choi Gyeongju-Park No-seok era]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 20 August 2024. 최경주는 팬텀오픈.PGA선수권.포카리오픈 우승등으로 총 1억5천9백3만3천6백40원의 상금을 획득, 지난해에 이어 2년연속 상금랭킹 1위에 오르며 남자골프의 간판스타로 자리매김 했다. [Choi Kyung-ju won the Phantom Open and PGA Championship. He won a total of 159,033,640 won in prize money by winning the Pocari Open, and became the No. 1 prize money player for the second year in a row, establishing himself as a signboard star in men's golf.]
^ ^a ^b "KPGA Prize Awards history" (in Korean). KPGA. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
^ "올MVP에 최경주·김미현…프로골프협회 선정" [All-MVP Choi Kyung-ju and Kim Mi-hyun... Selected by the Professional Golf Association]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. 9 December 1997. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "프로골퍼 모중경, SK텔레콤과 전속 계약" [Professional golfer Mo Joong-kyung signs exclusive contract with SK Telecom]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. 16 December 1997. Retrieved 20 August 2024. 올랐으며 지난 8일 한국프로골프협회(KPGA)에 의해 올해의 신인선수로 선정됐다. [...and was selected as the Rookie of the Year by the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) on the 8th.]