Juvic hailed Asian Tour No. 1 player

MANILA, Philippines - Juvic Pagunsan capped a historic season on the Asian Tour, winning the prestigious Players’ Player of the Year award to go with the coveted Order of Merit crown at the St. Regis Hotel Sunday night in Bangkok.

The 33-year-old Pagunsan will enter the Asian Tour golf annals as the second Filipino to win the OOM title in the just concluded 2011 season which came to an exciting close at the inaugural Thailand Golf Championship.

Frankie Miñoza was the first Filipino to emerge as Asia’s No. 1 in 1990.

Pagunsan’s rise was due largely to a magical November where he finished second in the lucrative Barclays Singapore Open, which earned him $666,660 (P28 million). He also registered three other top-10 finishes at the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic, Mercuries Taiwan Masters and UBS Hong Kong Open to end the year with $788,298.

The unassuming Filipino also earned the respect of his peers by picking up the Players’ Player of the Year title, which is determined through voting, after a consistent season which saw him miss only two cuts.

“It is an honor to be voted as the Players’ Player of the Year. It shows that my fellow competitors also believe in my abilities. I am proud of this achievement,” said Pagunsan, who received products from BlackBerry and Starwood Hotels and Resorts points as well for his success.

Korean superstar K.J. Choi was honored with the Asian Tour’s Special Achievement Award for winning the Players Championship, regarded as the world’s unofficial fifth Major, on the PGA Tour in May and also for his contribution towards the game and society.

An Asian Tour honorary member, Choi launched the CJ Invitational in Korea, one of four new events this season on the Asian Tour, and has regularly donated towards charities around the world. The Special Achievement Award recipient is determined through a Selection Committee comprising of Tour officials and members of the media.

Qualifying School graduate Tjart Van Der Walt of South Africa was named Rookie of the Year after an impressive season where he produced five top-10s, including a runner-up finish at the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic. He accumulated $187,676 in winnings.

The Amata Spring Country Club, which successfully hosted the $1-million Thailand Golf Championship, was voted by the players as the Host Venue of the Year.

Korea’s Noh Seung-yul, the 2010 Order of Merit champion, topped the Driving Average category with a driving average of 312 yards while Rick Gibson of Canada was the straightest driver of the ball throughout the season with an 81 percent fairway hit rate.

Thai star Thongchai Jaidee took home the sought-after Lowest Stroke Average category with 69.84 and countryman Thaworn Wiratchant claimed the Birdie Leader award after snaring a total of 249 birdies throughout the 2011 season.

India’s Ashok Kumar hit the most Greens in Regulation (GIR) with a strike rate of 78 percent to top the category while Daisuke Kataoka of Japan took the Lowest Putting Average award with 1.71 putts per GIR.

The Iskandar Johor Open, which was launched as a $300,000 tournament in 2007 and grown to $2 million this year, was awarded the Fastest Growing Tournament.

The stylish Korean, Young Nam was voted as the Best Dressed Player, sponsored by J. Lindeberg, on Tour via an online poll on www.asiantour.com.