English Open
The English Open is a professional golf tournament that has been held in England from 1988 to 2002; and again in 2020, during which time it has been a fixture on the European Tour schedule.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | England |
| Established | 1988 |
| Tour(s) | European Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 268 Darren Clarke (1999) |
| To par | −20 Darren Clarke (1999) |
| Current champion | |
 | |
Winners of the tournament include some of the most successful players in European Tour history including Mark James, Ian Woosnam, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke. James (2) and Clarke (3) are the only two players to have won the title more than once.
History
In most countries where golf is played there is a national open, but in England this role was effectively filled by The Open Championship, sometimes referred to as the "British Open". The English Open was founded in 1988, replacing the Lawrence Batley International on the tour schedule,[1] and despite initial sponsorship issues, there were hopes that the new English Open would develop into another major national open on the circuit.[2]
After the first event, which was held at Royal Birkdale, the Brabazon course at The Belfry was home to the tournament until 1993, when it moved to the Forest of Arden. It was then played at Hanbury Manor between 1997 and 1999, before returning to the Forest of Arden[3] until the tournament was cancelled following the 2002 season as part of long term plans for the European Tour to expand globally, by reducing the number of tournaments held in Europe, especially the United Kingdom. In the tour's first official season in 1972 12 out of 20 events were staged in the UK; by 1988 the ratio was 11 to 15,[4] but by 2005 this was down to 8 out of 47.
After a six-year hiatus the English Open was due to return to the European Tour schedule in 2009. . A five-year deal with the tour had been agreed, with the tournament being played over the Jack Nicklaus designed Signature Course at the St. Mellion International Resort in Cornwall, initially an alternate event to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf's majors.[5] However early in 2009, the revival was postponed until 2011 at the earliest, after developers ran into financial problems, reportedly as a result of the ongoing recession.[6] In March 2011 it was announced that the event had been cancelled due to insufficient sponsorship revenue having been raised by the organisers.[7]
The tournament returned in 2020 due to revamp of the European Tour's schedule because of COVID-19 pandemic. The event was played at Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club as part of a 6-week "UK Swing",[8] and titled as the Hero Open under a sponsorship agreement with Hero MotoCorp.[9]
Winners
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See also
References
- "At last! English get their own Open". Irish Independent. 26 January 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Promoters to the rescue of English Open". The Times. 28 July 1988. p. 41. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "English Open History". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- Platts, Mitchell (29 September 1988). "English Open gets under way without Europe's leading six". The Times. p. 42. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "The English Open to be Played at St Mellion from 2009". PGA European Tour. 19 March 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
- "Crunch delays golf championships". BBC News. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- "English Open at St Mellion cancelled over lack of funds". BBC Sport. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- "European Tour announces resumption of 2020 season". PGA European Tour. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "Hero MotoCorp announced as the Title Partner of Hero Open". PGA European Tour. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.