The Asian Tour has announced the implementation of a points-based system to determine its season-long Order of Merit rankings.

The points-based system is being introduced and implemented to reduce the disparity of prize funds on offer and create a less biased ranking system which will be beneficial for those who perform consistently well across the entire season.

The switch comes at a time when the Tour is steadily increasing its prize funds and attracting new talent from across the globe.

Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner & CEO, said: “After an extensive review of previous seasons and modelling over 2022, the Tournament Players Committee gave the green light to implement a points-based system. The premise for this switch is to place a premium on playing solid golf over the entire year rather than players taking advantage of a hot-streak of form across a few of our highly lucrative events.”

Since the inception of the Asian Tour in 2004, player performance has been based on prize money.

However, in 2023 and beyond, the Order of Merit ranking will be based on points earned according to the player’s finish in each event.

“The Tour has grown tremendously over the past season, and we felt the time was right to make this change. Over the years, there have been instances where a player would have a great week at a particular event and secure his card for the next season. We want to ensure that those cases are minimized and members who play well across the entire season are rewarded,” said Angelo Que, Chairman of the TPC and 20-year veteran of the Tour.

The points will vary based on prize money and the status of each event and will feature five tiers:
Tier 1 Asian Tour events, prize funds up to $750,000 (Base points x 1.0) 350 points
Tier 2 Asian Tour events, prize funds from $750,000 to $4,999,999 (Base points x 1.5) 525 points
Tier 3 International Series Events (Base Points x 2) 700 points
Tier 4 Asian Tour events, prize funds of $5 million and above (Base points x 2.5) 875 points
Tier 5 Majors (Base points x 3.5) 1,225 points

Apart from The Open, US Open and the Saudi International, there will only be a 2:1 disparity of point distributions in events across the 2023 schedule.

Cho added: “This new points system will ultimately benefit the majority of our membership and encourage our higher profile players playing overseas to come back and play more often on the Asian Tour. Ultimately, the stronger fields will  be great for our fans and sponsors.”

The Asian Tour has kicked off its 2023 season in Saudi Arabia this week with a blockbuster field having assembled for the PIF Saudi International.

The Tour then continues in the Middle East region with stops in Oman and Qatar  for the International Series before heading to New Zealand and back to Asia. 25 events are projected for the 2023 season with prize money in excess of US$35 million.

The International Series Order of Merit will continue to operate on a money list as there is minimal prize money disparity between events.

The Asian Development Tour Order of Merit will also continue to operate on a money list.