# 2022 Japan Golf Tour

The 2022 Japan Golf Tour was the 49th season of the Japan Golf Tour (formerly the PGA of Japan Tour), the main professional golf tour in Japan since it was formed in 1973.

## Response to LIV Golf

Following a statement produced by the Japan Golf Tour Organization on 1 October 2022, they outlined their position in regards to the ongoing dispute between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour and their alliance; the European Tour (DP World Tour). They stated that it would be beneficial to the Japan Golf Tour that they remained in a neutral position. However, they also came to the conclusion that they could potentially be better off siding with the PGA Tour, giving players in Asia a pathway to playing opportunities in the United States, as the Asian Tour has already struck an amicable relationship with LIV Golf, giving their players playing opportunities in the LIV Golf League via the International Series.
In December, a new agreement with the PGA Tour and European Tour was announced. As part of the deal, from 2023 onwards the top three on the Japan Golf Tour's season-ending money list earned status to play on the European Tour for the following season.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2022 season.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 3 Apr | Token Homemate Cup | Mie | 130,000,000 | Jinichiro Kozuma (2) | 16 | | |
| 17 Apr | Kansai Open Golf Championship | Hyōgo | 80,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (3) | 16 | | |
| 24 Apr | ISPS Handa Championship in Japan | Ibaraki | 100,000,000 | Yuto Katsuragawa (1) | 16 | EUR | New tournament |
| 1 May | The Crowns | Aichi | 100,000,000 | Yuki Inamori (3) | 16 | | |
| 15 May | Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup | Ibaraki | 100,000,000 | Shugo Imahira (6) | 15 | ASA | |
| 22 May | Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament | Ibaraki | 50,000,000 | Shugo Imahira (7) | 16 | | Pro-Am |
| 29 May | Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open | Okayama | 80,000,000 | Scott Vincent (3) | 16 | | |
| 5 Jun | BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup | Ibaraki | 150,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (4) | 16 | | Japan major |
| 12 Jun | ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament | Fukuoka | 100,000,000 | Tomoyo Ikemura (2) | 16 | | New tournament |
| 26 Jun | Japan Players Championship | Tochigi | 50,000,000 | Yuki Inamori (4) | 16 | | |
| 7 Aug | Japan PGA Championship | Shizuoka | 150,000,000 | Mikumu Horikawa (3) | 16 | | Japan major |
| 21 Aug | Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup | Hokkaidō | 120,000,000 | Hiroshi Iwata (4) | 7.62 | | |
| 28 Aug | Sansan KBC Augusta | Fukuoka | 100,000,000 | Riki Kawamoto (1) | 8.08 | | |
| 4 Sep | Fujisankei Classic | Yamanashi | 110,000,000 | Kaito Onishi (1) | 7.29 | | |
| 11 Sep | Shinhan Donghae Open | Nara | ₩1,400,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (5) | 9.03 | ASA, KOR | |
| 18 Sep | ANA Open | Hokkaidō | 100,000,000 | Tomoharu Otsuki (2) | 7.08 | | |
| 25 Sep | Panasonic Open Golf Championship | Hyōgo | 100,000,000 | Taiga Semikawa (a) (1) | 7.51 | | |
| 2 Oct | Vantelin Tokai Classic | Aichi | 110,000,000 | Riki Kawamoto (2) | 7.36 | | |
| 9 Oct | For The Players by The Players | Gunma | 50,000,000 | Shintaro Kobayashi (1) | 4.33 | | New tournament |
| 23 Oct | Japan Open Golf Championship | Hyōgo | 210,000,000 | Taiga Semikawa (a) (2) | 8.57 | | Japan major |
| 30 Oct | Heiwa PGM Championship | Ibaraki | 150,000,000 | Rikuya Hoshino (6) | 6.11 | | |
| 6 Nov | Mynavi ABC Championship | Hyōgo | 120,000,000 | Mikumu Horikawa (4) | 6.12 | | |
| 13 Nov | Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Shizuoka | 200,000,000 | Ryo Ishikawa (18) | 6.15 | | |
| 20 Nov | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Miyazaki | 200,000,000 | Kazuki Higa (6) | 9.54 | | |
| 27 Nov | Casio World Open | Kōchi | 200,000,000 | Chan Kim (8) | 6.73 | | |
| 4 Dec | Golf Nippon Series JT Cup | Tokyo | 130,000,000 | Hideto Tanihara (17) | 4.84 | | Japan major |

### Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner(s) | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 23 Jan | SMBC Singapore Open | Singapore | US$1,250,000 | Sadom Kaewkanjana | 14 | ASA | |
| 10 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$15,000,000 | Scottie Scheffler | 100 | | Major championship |
| 22 May | PGA Championship | United States | US$15,000,000 | Justin Thomas | 100 | | Major championship |
| 19 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$17,500,000 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 100 | | Major championship |
| 17 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | US$14,000,000 | Cameron Smith | 100 | | Major championship |
| 16 Oct | Zozo Championship | Chiba | US$11,000,000 | Keegan Bradley | 31.39 | PGAT | |
| 11 Dec | Hitachi 3Tours Championship | Chiba | 57,000,000 | Japan Golf Tour | n/a | | Team event |

## Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen. The top three players on the money list earned status to play on the 2023 European Tour (DP World Tour).
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) | Status earned |
| 1 | Kazuki Higa | 181,598,825 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 2 | Rikuya Hoshino | 114,404,050 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 3 | Aguri Iwasaki | 96,670,570 | Promoted to European Tour |
| 4 | Mikumu Horikawa | 95,594,744 | |
| 5 | Yuto Katsuragawa | 87,970,697 | |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Ref. |
| Most Valuable Player | Kazuki Higa | |
| Rookie of the Year (Shimada Trophy) | Yuto Katsuragawa | |

## Japan Challenge Tour

The 2022 Japan Challenge Tour, titled as the 2022 Abema Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th season of the Japan Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the Japan Golf Tour.

### Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2022 season.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (¥) | Winner | OWGR points |
| 8 Apr | Novil Cup | Tokushima | 15,000,000 | Yuto Soeda (1) | 4 |
| 22 Apr | i Golf Shaper Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Hiroki Tanaka (1) | 4 |
| 27 May | Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament | Saitama | 15,000,000 | Taisei Yamada (1) | 4 |
| 10 Jun | Landic Challenge 9 | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Taiko Nishiyama (1) | 4 |
| 17 Jun | Japan Create Challenge | Fukuoka | 15,000,000 | Taiga Semikawa (a) (1) | 4 |
| 25 Jun | Daisendori Cup | Tottori | 18,000,000 | Shota Matsumoto (1) | 4 |
| 23 Jul | Japan Players Championship Challenge | Fukui | 15,000,000 | Chisato Takamiya (a) (1) | 4 |
| 29 Jul | Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge | Akita | 15,000,000 | Takashi Ogiso (2) | 4 |
| 3 Sep | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Challenge | Fukushima | 15,000,000 | Masayuki Yamashita (a) (1) | 2.13 |
| 16 Sep | PGM Challenge | Niigata | 15,000,000 | Yujiro Ohori (2) | 1.92 |
| 23 Sep | ISPS Handa Hero ni nare! Challenge Tournament | Shizuoka | 23,000,000 | Masanori Kobayashi (3) | 1.98 |
| 30 Sep | Elite Grips Challenge | Hyōgo | 15,000,000 | Takashi Ogiso (3) | 2.14 |
| 7 Oct | Ryo Ishikawa Everyone Project Challenge | Tochigi | 15,000,000 | Takuya Higa (1) | 1.82 |
| 14 Oct | Delight Works JGTO Final | Ibaraki | 20,000,000 | Yujiro Ohori (3) | 2.57 |

### Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Japanese yen. The top 20 players on the money list earned status to play on the 2023 Japan Golf Tour.
| Position | Player | Prize money (¥) |
| 1 | Yujiro Ohori | 7,798,551 |
| 2 | Takashi Ogiso | 7,603,935 |
| 3 | Terumichi Kakazu | 6,315,737 |
| 4 | Taiko Nishiyama | 4,879,779 |
| 5 | Shota Matsumoto | 4,870,634 |