Ivory Coast Open

The Ivory Coast Open or Open de Côte d'Ivoire was a golf tournament in the Ivory Coast. It was founded in 1980, and was an event on the Safari Circuit the following year. It was an event on the European-based Challenge Tour schedule in 1990 and 1991, and from 1996 to 1999. It has been held at President Golf Club, Yamoussoukro and Ivoire Golf Club, Abidjan.

Ivory Coast Open
Tournament information
LocationIvory Coast
Established1980
Course(s)Ivoire Golf Club
President Golf Club
Par72
Tour(s)Challenge Tour (1990–1991, 1995–1998)
Safari Circuit (1981–1991)
FormatStroke play
Prize fund€70,000[1]
Final year1999
Final champion
Ian Poulter

The title has been won by some of the world's top golfers, including Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, and Gary Player. The most successful player is England's Gordon J. Brand, who recorded three victories between 1981 and 1988.[1]

The tournament was revived in 2017 after an 18-year hiatus and was won by the Ghanaian golfer Vincent Torgah.[2]

History

The first event in 1980 was to inaugurate the President Golf Club, Yamoussoukro. It was an invitation event with 27 professionals competing. Yamoussoukro was the birthplace of the President, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who attended the event.[3] Gary Player and Peter Townsend tied at 265, 23 under par and nine strokes ahead of the rest of the field. Townsend was bunkered on the first playoff hole and took a bogey 5 to Player's par 4.[4]

In 1981 the event became the Ivory Coast Open and was added to the Safari Circuit schedule.[5] It was won by Gordon J. Brand, who beat Martin Poxon at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, after the two had tied on 271.[6]

Winners
This list is incomplete. The 1999 event was advertised as the 18th edition.
YearWinnerCountryVenueScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-upRef
Open de Côte d'Ivoire
1999Ian Poulter EnglandIvoire284−42 strokes Sébastien Delagrange
David Park
Marc Pendaries		[7]
1998John Mellor EnglandIvoire281−73 strokes Fredrik Lindgren
José Antonio Sota
1997Knud Storgaard DenmarkPresident274Playoff Anssi Kankkonen
1996Massimo Florioli ItalyIvoire2844 strokes Michele Reale
Ivory Coast Open
1991Michel Besanceney FrancePresident279−9Playoff Paul Carman[8]
1990David Llewellyn WalesPresident275−132 strokes Jeff Pinsent[9]
1989Vijay Singh FijiPresident274−141 stroke Jeff Pinsent[10]
1988Gordon J. Brand EnglandPresident275−132 strokes Richard Fish[11]
1987Jean Garaïalde FrancePresident
1986Gordon J. Brand EnglandPresident273−152 strokes Brian Marchbank[12]
1985David Llewellyn WalesPresident277−111 stroke Brian Gunson[13]
1984Bill McColl ScotlandPresident275−135 strokes Gordon J. Brand
Craig Maltman		[14]
1983Bill Longmuir ScotlandPresident271−171 stroke Curtis Strange[15]
1982John Morgan EnglandPresident272−162 strokes Ian Woosnam[16]
1981Gordon J. Brand EnglandPresident271−17Playoff Martin Poxon[17]
Trophée Félix Houphouët-Boigny
1980Gary Player South AfricaPresident265−23Playoff Peter Townsend[4]

References
  1. Challenge in the Ivory Coast, European Tour, 13 April 1999
  2. "Golf : Vincent Torgah grand vainqueur du Trophée Félix Houphouët-Boigny 2017". mondialsport.net. 16 October 2017.
  3. "Player playing ambassador's role in Ivory Coast event". The Times. 6 March 1980. p. 15.
  4. "Player ends duel with Townsend by snatching win in play-off". The Times. 10 March 1980. p. 9.
  5. "Off on Safari!". Newcastle Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 5 February 1981. p. 18. Retrieved 16 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Brand wins Ivory Coast open playoff". The Times. 2 March 1981. p. 8.
  7. "Poulter keeps cool to take Ivory Coast title". European Tour. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  8. "Tee talk". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 11 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Cassells collects his first pro cheque". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 19 December 1990. p. 21. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "For the Record". The Times. 27 November 1989. p. 45. Retrieved 7 February 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  11. "Yorkshire's Gordon J. Brand". The Glasgow Herald. 8 February 1988. p. 7.
  12. "A Brand double as Marchbank falters". The Glasgow Herald. 24 February 1986. p. 9.
  13. "A Last-round 69". The Glasgow Herald. 18 February 1985. p. 17.
  14. "Scotland's Billy McColl". The Glasgow Herald. 5 March 1984. p. 16.
  15. "Longmuir coasts to victory". The Glasgow Herald. 7 March 1983. p. 16.
  16. "John Morgan". The Glasgow Herald. 15 February 1982. p. 17.
  17. "Gordon Brand". The Glasgow Herald. 2 March 1981. p. 18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.