Asian Tour

Current season or competition: 2012 Asian Tour
Sport	Golf
Founded	1995
Director	Kyi Hla Han
Country(ies)	Brunei  Cambodia  Hong Kong  India  Indonesia  Malaysia  Myanmar  Singapore  South Korea  Taiwan  Thailand  Philippines  Switzerland
Most titles	Thongchai Jaidee (13)
Official website	AsianTour.com

The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The Asian Tour is administered from offices in Singapore. It is controlled by a board with a majority of professional golfers, and a Tournament Players Committee of its player members, supported by an executive team. The Executive Chairman of the Board is the Burmese professional golfer Kyi Hla Han.

The first season in the current lineage was played in 1995, although there had been earlier attempts to create an Asian Tour. The Asian PGA was formed in July 1994 at a meeting in Hong Kong attended by PGA representatives from eight countries. In 1998 the Asian Tour became the sixth member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. In 2002, the tour moved its office from Hong Kong to Malaysia and in 2004 the tour was taken over by a new organisation established by the players, who had been in dispute with the previous management. In 2007 it moved to new headquarters on the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore,^[1] which is also the home to what was at that time the tour's richest sole sanctioned tournament, the Singapore Open. Official money events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points.

Most of the leading players on the tour are Asian, but players from other parts of the world also participate (as of 2007 the country with most representatives profiled on the tour's official site is Australia). Each year the Asian Tour co-sanctions a number of events with the PGA European Tour, with these events offering higher prize funds than most of the other tournaments on the tour as a result. From 2008, 50 per cent of players’ earnings from the U.S. Open and The Open Championship will count towards the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. The two Opens have been singled out from the other majors because they have open qualifying which Asian Tour members may enter.^[2]

In 2004 the total prize fund was 11.4 million U.S. dollars, and by 2007 it had risen to 27.73 million U.S. dollars (all purses are fixed in dollars apart from those of The Open Championship and the Johnnie Walker Classic, which are fixed in pounds sterling). However most of the tournaments with seven figure U.S. dollar purses are in events co-sanctioned by the European Tour, and European Tour players tend to collect most of the winnings in those tournaments. Asia's richest event, the HSBC Champions tournament, was first played in November 2005 with a prize fund of $5 million; it is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour but did not count towards the money list for its first three years as any high placings by Asian Tour players would distort the money list. However, since 2008, 50% of the prize money, which is now at a total of $7.5 million, has counted towards the Order of Merit. For 2010, the tour's richest sole sanctioned events are the Hero Honda Indian Open and Iskandar Johor Open, each with a total prize fund of $1.25 million. In 2011, the Iskandar Johor Open will be co-sanctioned by the European Tour. Aside from the HSBC Champions, now a World Golf Championships event, two other co-sanctioned Asian Tour events have prize funds of at least $5 million. The Singapore Open, which reached the $5 million level in 2008, had been the tour's richest sole sanctioned event, but it became co-sanctioned by the European Tour in 2009, and as such saw another increase in prize money in 2010 to $6 million. A new limited-field event in Malaysia, the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, was launched in 2010 with a $6 million purse. This is the first Asian Tour event to be co-sanctioned by the U.S.-based PGA Tour, although it is not an official money event on that tour. The tour's schedule remains quite unstable, with several in-season cancellations, reschedulings and prize fund alterations in 2007.

In 2006 the Asian Tour became the most prestigious men's tour on which a woman has made the half-way cut in recent times when Michelle Wie did so at the SK Telecom Open in South Korea.

In 2009 a rival tour, the OneAsia Tour, was established. Relations between the two tours are hostile.

2012 schedule[link]

The 2012 season runs from February to December.

Schedule by year[link]

The table below summarises the development of the tour since 2004, when the current organisation took control.

Order of Merit winners[link]

Year	Leading player	Country	Earnings (US$)
2011	Juvic Pagunsan	Philippines	788,299
2010	Noh Seung-yul	South Korea	822,361
2009	Thongchai Jaidee	Thailand	981,932
2008	Jeev Milkha Singh	India	1,452,702
2007	Liang Wen-Chong	China	532,590
2006	Jeev Milkha Singh	India	591,884
2005	Thaworn Wiratchant	Thailand	510,122
2004	Thongchai Jaidee	Thailand	381,930
2003	Arjun Atwal	India	284,018
2002	Jyoti Randhawa	India	266,263
2001	Thongchai Jaidee	Thailand	353,060
2000	Simon Dyson	England	282,370
1999	Kyi Hla Han	Myanmar	204,210
1998	Kang Wook-soon	South Korea	150,772
1997	Mike Cunning	United States	170,619
1996	Kang Wook-soon	South Korea	183,737
1995	Lin Keng-chi	Taiwan	177,856

Leading career money winners[link]

The table below shows the leading money winners on the Asian Tour as of the end of the 2010 season. The official site has a top 100 list which also shows each player's winnings for the last six years.^[5]

Rank	Player	Country	Prize money (US$)
1	Thongchai Jaidee	Thailand	4,192,550
2	Jeev Milkha Singh	India	2,978,145
3	Thaworn Wiratchant	Thailand	2,705,057
4	Jyoti Randhawa	India	2,690,999
5	Liang Wen-Chong	China	2,617,808
6	Prayad Marksaeng	Thailand	2,517,521
7	Anthony Kang	United States	1,859,671
8	Lin Wen-tang	Taiwan	1,808,235
9	Simon Yates	Scotland	1,754,568
10	Mardan Mamat	Singapore	1,678,591

See also[link]

• List of golfers with most Asian Tour wins

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Official site

Nigahiga

Ryan Higa at the 2010 Streamy Awards
URL	www.youtube.com/nigahiga
Created by	Ryan Higa Sean Fujiyoshi
Launched	July 20, 2006; 5 years ago  (2006-07-20)
Current status	Online

Nigahiga ( /ˈniːɡɑːhiːɡɑː/) is a popular YouTube channel, and personality of Japanese American Ryan Higa (born (1990-06-06) June 6, 1990 (age 22), in Hilo, Hawaii).^[1] Since relocating to Las Vegas to study filmmaking at UNLV,^[2] Higa's videos are either solo efforts or videos with other people such as KevJumba.^[3] They are known for their YouTube comedy videos, which have been viewed over 1.1 billion times.^[4] As of May 2012, Higa's YouTube channel, nigahiga, has over 5.3 million subscribers, and is the second most subscribed YouTube channel of all time, surpassed only by RayWilliamJohnson.^[5] According to Higa, his channel name is a combination of "Niga", which means "rant" in Japanese,^[6] and his last name, "Higa".

Content[link]

Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi started posting YouTube videos of themselves lip-synching to songs in mid 2006 while attending Waiakea High School.^[7] They quickly expanded beyond songs, with a variety of other comedic pieces. Occasional guest appearances are made by Tim Enos, Ryan Villaruel, Kyle Chun, and Tarynn Nago, collectively known as the "Yabo Crew".^[8]

On Christmas Eve of 2008, Higa and Fujiyoshi's two most popular videos, How To Be Gangster and How To Be Emo, were removed due to copyright violations.^[9] On January 21, 2009, the nigahiga account was temporarily suspended and was required to remove more copyrighted videos. Because of this, nigahiga's lip synching videos were all removed (with the exception of You're Beautiful, which was audio swapped),^[10] and so were most of his videos that include copyrighted music. As of now, all the music that is being played in nigahiga's videos is music Higa composed himself. How to be Gangster and How to be Emo were put back on nigahiga's channel in late August 2009, only to be removed a few days later, along with How to be Ninja and How to be Nerd. In Spring 2010, How to be Ninja, How to be Gangster and How to be Emo were made public once more.^[11] He created a second channel recently, where he posts video blogs and behind the scenes movies. His second account is under the name of "HigaTV".

Due to Ryan Higa moving to Los Angeles for college, most of the Nigahiga videos are solo efforts, usually featuring collaborations with other YouTube users. However, the other members of the Yabo crew have made appearances whenever Higa visits Hawaii.

Films[link]

In 2008, Los Angeles producer Richard Van Vleet offered to help them create their first feature-length film. The resulting film, Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure, was directed by Richard Van Vleet and released on November 14, 2008.^[12][13] It was shown in sold out theaters in Hawaii and California.^{[citation needed][14]} The DVD was released on July 14, 2009 in the USA.^[15]

Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure is about a down on his luck movie producer, played by Michael Buckley, who is seeking out famous celebrities in order to make a hit movie in 30 days or risk being fired. He chooses Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi after discovering the popularity of their YouTube videos. He invites them to Hollywood to make a movie. They accept the offer, and run into some amusing situations on the way.^[16]

Ninja Melk, a 26 minute short film about ninjas, was released in August 2009. The plot revolves around a ninja master named Master Ching Ching sending his student Lapchung (played by Bryson Murata) to find a replacement, finding Ryan and Sean to catch the evil Bokchoy (played by Tim Enos) and his henchwoman, Gina (played by Tarynn Nago).^[17]

A new independent 35 minute film he created with Wong Fu Productions called "Agents of Secret Stuff" was uploaded on Ryan's channel on November 24, 2010. It features some other popular YouTube users as well as actors such as Aki Aleong. "Agents of Secret Stuff" is about a teenage A.S.S. (Agent of Secret Stuff) (Higa) who is sent undercover to a high school to protect one of the students, a girl named Taylor (Arden Cho) from the A.S.S.'s enemy, the S.I.N.S (Society Involving Not-So-Good Stuff). It included guest appearances from Ian and Anthony of Smosh, D-Trix, Kassem G and Hiimrawn.

Ryan Higa's and Sean Fujiyoshi's YouTube channel, nigahiga, was created on July 20, 2006. By December 21, 2010, it had reached 3 million subscribers, the first channel to do so,^[18] and by May 2012, their videos had been viewed over 1.17 billion times.^[19]

Videography[link]

^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site www.HigaTV.com
• nigahiga's channel on YouTube
• Official homepage of Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure
• Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

Kim Hyun Joong
Kim Hyun Joong at SS501 Persona Concert 2009 Hong Kong
Background information
Birth name	김현중 (金賢重)
Born	(1986-06-06) 6 June 1986 (age 26) Seoul, South Korea
Origin	South Korea
Genres	K-pop, J-pop, Dance, R&B
Occupations	Singer, Actor, Model, Dancer, MC
Instruments	Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums, Violin
Years active	2005–present
Labels	DSP Media (2005–2010) KeyEast (2010–present) Warner Music Taiwan (2010–present) United Asia Management (2011–present) Delicious Deli Records/Universal Music Japan (2011–present)
Associated acts	SS501 (2005-present)
Website	http://www.hyun-joong.com/

20110816 The Face Shop activities in Taiwan

Kim Hyun Joong (Hangul: 김현중, Hanja: 金賢重) was born on 6 June 1986. He is a South Korean entertainer and the leader of boyband SS501. Kim is well-known for his role as Yoon Ji Hoo in the 2009 Korean drama Boys Over Flowers, winning Best Actor Award at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009, and Popularity Award at the 45th PaekSang Arts Awards. He is also known for playing in the late 2010 Korean drama Playful Kiss, as Baek Seung Jo. He is a style icon in Korea, winning several icon awards.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

He dropped out of school when he decided to become a singer. During his school days, he played bass guitar in a band. During the years 2001 and 2002 when he was 14–15, while working as a waiter in a family restaurant, located at Jamsil-dong, he was introduced to a new set up management company CEO. Initially he was to debut in a 5 member group. Han Yeon of B2Y (now disbanded) was to be the Leader and Kim the maknae. While the group underwent training together, they were asked by their company to debut in China as a Hallyu project group, but the group rejected the offer and disbanded. Kim proceeded to audition for DSP Media (formerly DSP Entertainment) and became a member and leader of SS501. Kim returned to school and graduated in 2006 after debuting as a member of SS501. In 2011, he enrolled in Chungwoon University to study stage production management.^[1]

2005: Debut[link]

On 8 June 2005, Kim made his entertainment debut as the leader of SS501. The group appeared on the 2006 show, Thank You For Waking Me Up where he was proven to be a heavy sleeper, and the MNet show Idol World in 2007, in which SS501 did various activities in Japan.

In May 2008, Kim joined the cast of We Got Married in episode nine. Known as the "Lettuce Couple", Hyun Joong and Hwang Bo went on to win MBC's Best Couple Award. The couple made their official exit from the show in episode 38, on 14 December 2008, due to scheduling conflicts with Boys Over Flowers.

2009: Acting, Boys Over Flowers and H1N1[link]

Whilst in Japan in 2008, Kim was cast as Yoon Ji Hoo in the Korean drama Boys Over Flowers. A role for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 and the Popularity Award at the 45th PaekSang Arts Awards.

In 2009, SS501 released the album SS501 Collection, in which they each sang a solo song, along with being featured in a mini drama music video. Their Asia Concert Tour began in mid-August 2009 in Seoul at the Olympic Park. They continued their tour in Shanghai, Taipei, and Bangkok before returning to Seoul for a closing encore concert. They staged two concerts for the encore closure on 27 February and 28 February 2010 respectively.

In September 2009, during promotions in Yokohama, Japan for Boys Over Flowers, Kim was diagnosed with H1N1. He was treated in a Toyko hospital and was discharged on 15 September 2009.^[2] While recovering from H1N1, he could not attend the Seoul International Drama Awards; to accept the award on his behalf, his band mates of SS501: Heo Young Saeng, Kim Kyu Jong, and Kim Hyung Jun were present for the award show.

He has also been the spokesperson for cosmetics brand, Tony Moly, an established company with numerous branches across Korea and Asia, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. He has since ended his contract with Tony Moly at the end of September 2010, and he had been chosen to be the Spokesperson for The Face Shop. He Did A Video (M et )ru- Black Glasses starring Kim Hyun Joong!

2010: SS501 comeback, leaving DSP Media, Playful Kiss, and 2010 Asian Games[link]

In April 2010, he appeared opposite Jung Ryeo Won in the music video for Korean singer Gummy's new song "As A Man" (남자라서).

In June 2010, SS501 released an album titled Destination, produced by Steven Lee. Their title song "Love Ya" was well received, rating high in record sales and online music stores, and it went on to top Music Bank's K-Chart. However, they ended promotions after two weeks, because SS501's contract with DSP Media ended.

On 19 June 2010, he appeared at a concert in the Philippines along side BEAST.

On 28 June 2010, it was announced that Kim had officially left DSP Media and joined Bae Yong Joon's KeyEast Entertainment company.^[3] Although Kim has left DSP Media he stated that SS501's activities will be top priority in their contracts^[4] and definitely has not disbanded. Kim explained in an interview that, at the time, there wasn't a company that would accepted them as a whole, thus the group decided to take the chance to focus on their solo activities.

Kim played the lead role in the drama Playful Kiss, a Korean adaptation of Japanese shōjo manga Itazura na Kiss as Baek Seung Jo, an all round perfect genius with an IQ of 200, with co star Jung So Min as Oh Hani. On 7 November, Kim was interviewed by CNN's Anna Coren due to his success in Playful Kiss. Playful Kiss Special Edition is a big hit on Youtube as it is the first Korean drama to air on YouTube. Its first episode garnered 1 million views just in 5 days and it proved so popular that there is a record channel view of 7 million and 26 million total upload views, as of January 2012.

Kim was invited to perform at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou as the representative of South Korea to sing "Sunshine Again" with other 4 other singers from Chinese-speaking countries.^[5] In early December 2010, Kim went to Singapore and Malaysia to promote The Face Shop.

2011: Solo artist[link]

In May, Kim named his official solo fanclub 'Henecia', which is a combination of 'H' and the Latin term 'benecia', which means 'blessed'.^[6]

On 8 June 2011, Kim released his first solo debut mini album, Break Down. It was produced by Steven Lee, who composed SS501's hits, "Love Like This" and "Love Ya". The title track "Break Down", featuring Double K., is a high energy dance track, with a R&B heavy "Please", as the second lead track. The album exceeded 70,000 pre-ordered copies in just 10 days.^[7] It peaked at number one on Gaon Weekly Album Chart for the week starting 5 June 2011^[8] and was the best-selling album for June on Gaon Monthly Album Chart with 100,433 copies sold. It also toped the Oricon chart in Japan in the International Imported Album category for the first week of July.^[9] The album's title track "Break Down" was the first place winner for two consecutive weeks on Mnet's M! Countdown music show, for 16 and 23 June 2011; and also won for two consecutive weeks on KBS's Music Bank.^[10] Break Down is certified platinum in Taiwan and Kim was presented with a platinum record by Warner Music Taiwan CEO Chen Ze Shan in a press conference held in Taiwan.^[11]

Kim was also the first Korean to appear on Taiwanese TV show The Person. In July 2011, he also held the first of his nationwide concerts in Japan. The tour continued from November in seven cities across Japan: Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Nagoya, Tokyo and Fukuoka.^[12]

On 11 October 2011, Kim released his second mini album Lucky. It debuted at number 5 on Billboard's World Chart.^[13] It topped the Gaon Chart again for the third week of October 2011 and was the highest selling album on the Hanteo Album Sales Chart for the month of October 2011. On 25 October 2011, Kim released a digital single together with Seohyun entitled "The Magic of Yellow Ribbon", which is the theme song for a commercial for The Face Shop. On 28 October, he, along with Ha Ji Won, acted as MC at the 2011 K-Pop Super Concert held at Gwangalli Beach in Busan, which was broadcast on SBS on 6 November.^[14]

In November 2011, Kim won the 2011 KIA Soul People’s Choice "Style Icon Award" for the third consecutive year.^[15] On 9 November, Kim announced at a press conference for his Japan Tour that he had signed a deal with Universal Music Japan for his Japan-based music activities.^[16] Kim successfully completed his Japan Tour that started on 9th of November, attracting over 30,000 fans. Kim won the Best Male Solo Artist at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards that was held in Singapore.

On 15 December 2011, Kim released his digital album : Marry You/Marry Me. The digital album consists of 4 songs, namely Marry Me, Marry You, Marry Me (instrumental) and Marry You (instrumental). The music videos for Marry Me and Marry You were both released on his official Youtube account on 15th December 2011 12 AM KST.

2012: Upcoming Drama, 2012 Fan Meeting Tour[link]

On January 26 2012, Kim Hyun Joong released his first Japanese single (Kiss Kiss & Lucky Guy) (Japanese version). The singer who has focused mostly on his album promotions after his drama ‘Playful Kiss‘ which came to an end in 2010 has recently been confirmed for a role in ‘City Conquest‘. Kim Hyun Joong is going to be the main lead for the upcoming drama, "Conquest for City" which is also known as "City Conquest". Kim Hyun Joong will be playing the role as a wild man (Baek Mir), a strong individual who experienced and went through many kinds of hardships and difficulties and lived through a harsh life, growing up without parents, but a man who becomes infinitely weak when it comes to love. ‘City Conquest’ is a drama that’s been adapted from the original comic by author Shin Hyung Bin. This new project brings together humanism and action, and it tells the story of main character Baek Mir who grew up resentful towards his father who left his mother and himself. He takes revenge against the evils of society which drove his family into destruction.

In related news, Kim Hyun Joong will be holding his ‘Kim Hyun Joong Fan Meeting Tour 2012‘ in May, making stops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and more.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2008 – Digital Single Thank You
• 2011 – 1st mini album Break Down
• 2011 – 2nd mini album Lucky
• 2011 - Digital Single Marry You/ Marry Me
• 2012 - 1st Japanese Single "" [Kiss Kiss/Lucky Guy] (Japanese Version)

DVDs[link]

• 2010 – Ready,Action! Spain Photo Book
• 2010 – Kim Hyun Joong's "First Love Story DVD"

Soundtrack Contributions (OSTs)[link]

• 2009 - Because I'm Stupid Acoustic Version - Boys Over Flowers (KBS drama)
• 2009 - A Thing Called Happiness - Boys Over Flowers Special Edition (KBS drama)
• 2010 - One More Time - Playful Kiss (MBC drama)
• 2012 - If You're Like Me - The Marriage Plot (tvN drama)

Filmography[link]

• 2005: Nonstop – ep 208 (MBC)
• 2005: Can Love Be Refilled? – as William (KBS2 sitcom)
• 2006: Pi Story – (voice)
• 2007: Hotelier – with SS501 cameo ep 7 (TV Arashi)
• 2008: Spotlight – with SS501 cameo (MBC)
• 2008: We Got Married – ep 9 to 38 (MBC)
• 2009: Boys Before Flowers – as Yoon Ji Hoo (KBS2)
• 2009: Samsung Anycall Haptic Mission with F4 and Som Dam-Bi
• 2009: Family Outing – guest ep 64–65 (SBS)
• 2010: Playful Kiss – as Baek Seung Jo (MBC)
• 2011: Running Man – guest ep 46–47 (SBS)
• 2011: Dream High – cameo ep 1 (KBS2)
• 2012: Kpop Star conquering the world Documentary (MBC)
• 2012: Conquest of the City/City Conquest - as Baek Mir (SBS)

Music videos[link]

• 2005 2Shai – "She Laugh"
• 2006 Eru – "Black Glasses"
• 2009 Kim Joon – "Jun Be O.K"
• 2010 Gummy – "As A Man"
• 2011 Kim Hyun Joong – "제발" (Please)
• 2011 Kim Hyun Joong – "Break Down"
• 2011 Kim Hyun Joong – "Kiss Kiss"
• 2011 Kim Hyun Joong – "Lucky Guy"
• 2011 Kim Hyun Joong - "Marry You"
• 2012 Kim Hyun Joong - "Kiss Kiss" [Japanese version]
• 2012 Kim Hyun Joong - "Lucky Guy" [Japanese version]

MC[link]

• 2005 – M! Countdown – Mnet
• 2006 – Music Core
• 2011 – Super K-pop Busan Concert

Endorsements[link]

• Samsung Anycall Blue
• Mighty Mac
• Elite Uniform
• Lotte Milkshake
• Converse
• Samsung Anycall Haptic Pop
• T.I For Men
• NongShim
• Le Coq Sportif
• Samsung Anycall Jet
• Dinamic Kin (Coca Cola)

• Hotsun Chicken
• Samsung Card
• MVIO
• Basic House
• I'm David
• Tony Moly
• The Face Shop (with Seohyun)
• Hang Ten
• Coupang Spring Campaign
• Lotte Duty Free
• Aeon Heatfact (Japan)
• Aeon Coolish Fact (Japan)
• Seoul Ambassador to Tourism
• Slim Beauty House (Japan)
• March 2012 Honorary Ambassador of the United Nations Millennium Development
• Centerpole

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kim Hyun Joong's Official Website
• Kim Hyun Joong's Official Japanese Website
• Kim Hyun Joong's KeyEast Profile Page