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.

This article is about the golf tournament. For other uses, see English Open (disambiguation).
"Hero Open" redirects here. For the national open golf championship of India, sponsored by Hero/Hero Honda since 2005, see Indian Open (golf).
English Open
Tournament information
LocationEngland
Established1988
Tour(s)European Tour
FormatStroke play
Tournament record score
Aggregate268 Darren Clarke (1999)
To par−20 Darren Clarke (1999)
Current champion
Sam Horsfield
Forest of Arden CC
Location in England

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
YearVenueWinnerCountryScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
Hero Open
2020Forest of ArdenSam Horsfield England270−181 stroke Thomas Detry
2003−19: No tournament
Compass Group English Open
2002Forest of ArdenDarren Clarke (3) Northern Ireland271−173 strokes Søren Hansen
2001Forest of ArdenPeter O'Malley Australia275−131 stroke Raphaël Jacquelin
2000Forest of ArdenDarren Clarke (2) Northern Ireland275−131 stroke Michael Campbell
Mark James
1999Hanbury ManorDarren Clarke Northern Ireland268−202 strokes John Bickerton
National Car Rental English Open
1998Hanbury ManorLee Westwood England271−172 strokes Greg Chalmers
Olle Karlsson
Alamo English Open
1997Hanbury ManorPer-Ulrik Johansson Sweden269−192 strokes Dennis Edlund
1996Forest of ArdenRobert Allenby Australia278−101 stroke Ross McFarlane
Colin Montgomerie
Murphy's English Open
1995Forest of ArdenPhilip Walton Ireland274−14Playoff Colin Montgomerie
1994Forest of ArdenColin Montgomerie Scotland274−141 stroke Barry Lane
1993The BelfryIan Woosnam Wales269−192 strokes Costantino Rocca
1992The BelfryVicente Fernández Argentina283−51 stroke Per-Ulrik Johansson
Fredrik Lindgren
NM English Open
1991The BelfryDavid Gilford England278−102 strokes Roger Chapman
1990The BelfryMark James (2) England284−4Playoff Sam Torrance
1989The BelfryMark James England279−91 stroke Eamonn Darcy
Craig Parry
Sam Torrance
English Open
1988Royal BirkdaleHoward Clark England279−93 strokes Peter Baker
gollark: Nah, I doubt it.
gollark: What?
gollark: It's probably not "coding", just sticking an entry into whichever database DC uses.
gollark: TJ09 probably has one.
gollark: How about "Have: Nocturne. Free (with CB Gold/Neglected hatchling)".

See also

References
  1. "At last! English get their own Open". Irish Independent. 26 January 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Promoters to the rescue of English Open". The Times. 28 July 1988. p. 41. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  3. "English Open History". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. 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.
  5. "The English Open to be Played at St Mellion from 2009". PGA European Tour. 19 March 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  6. "Crunch delays golf championships". BBC News. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  7. "English Open at St Mellion cancelled over lack of funds". BBC Sport. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  8. "European Tour announces resumption of 2020 season". PGA European Tour. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. "Hero MotoCorp announced as the Title Partner of Hero Open". PGA European Tour. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.

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