English Open

English Open
Tournament information
Location England
Established 1979
Course(s) St. Mellion
Tour(s) European Tour
Format Stroke play
Prize fund €1,000,000
Month played August
Tournament record score
Aggregate 268 Darren Clarke (1999)
To par −20 (as above)
Final champion
Northern Ireland Darren Clarke

The English Open was a professional golf tournament on the European Tour. In 2009, it was due to be played over the Jack Nicklaus designed Signature Course at the St. Mellion International Resort in Cornwall, after a six-year hiatus, but its return to the schedule had to be postponed for at least two years after developers ran into financial difficulties.[1]

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 1979 as the Lada English Golf Classic, and was held until 1983 at The Belfry. After a five-year absence, the tournament returned in 1988 as the English Open. The first event was held at Royal Birkdale, before moving back to The Belfry until 1993 when it moved to the Forest of Arden.

Aside from three years at Hanbury Manor, the English Open remained at the Forest of Arden 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, but by 2005 this was down to 8 out of 47.

The English Open was due to return to the European Tour schedule in 2009, under a five-year deal, initially as an alternate event to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf's majors.[2] 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.[1] In March 2011 it was announced that the event had been cancelled due to insufficient sponsorship revenue having been raised by the organisers.[3]

Only two players have won the tournament more than once; Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland with three victories, and England's Mark James with two.

Winners

YearWinnerCountryScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner(s)-up
Compass Group English Open
2002Darren Clarke (3) Northern Ireland271−173 strokesDenmark Søren Hansen
2001Peter O'Malley Australia275−131 strokeFrance Raphaël Jacquelin
2000Darren Clarke (2) Northern Ireland275−131 strokeNew Zealand Michael Campbell
England Mark James
1999Darren Clarke Northern Ireland268−202 strokesEngland John Bickerton
National Car Rental English Open
1998Lee Westwood England271−172 strokesAustralia Greg Chalmers
Sweden Olle Karlsson
Alamo English Open
1997Per-Ulrik Johansson Sweden269−192 strokesSweden Dennis Edlund
1996Robert Allenby Australia278−101 strokeEngland Ross McFarlane
Scotland Colin Montgomerie
Murphy's English Open
1995Philip Walton Ireland274−14PlayoffScotland Colin Montgomerie
1994Colin Montgomerie Scotland274−141 strokeEngland Barry Lane
1993Ian Woosnam Wales269−192 strokesItaly Costantino Rocca
1992Vicente Fernández Argentina283−51 strokeSweden Per-Ulrik Johansson
Sweden Fredrik Lindgren
NM English Open
1991David Gilford England278−102 strokesEngland Roger Chapman
1990Mark James (2) England284−4PlayoffScotland Sam Torrance
1989Mark James England279−91 strokeRepublic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy
Australia Craig Parry
Scotland Sam Torrance
English Open
1988Howard Clark England279−93 strokesEngland Peter Baker
1984–87: No tournament
State Express English Classic
1983Hugh Baiocchi South Africa279−9PlayoffRepublic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy
United States Mike Sullivan
1982Greg Norman Australia279−131 strokeScotland Brian Marchbank
1981Rodger Davis Australia283−52 strokesAustralia Greg Norman
Mazda Cars English Classic
1980Manuel Piñero Spain286−21 strokeScotland Sandy Lyle
Lada English Golf Classic
1979Seve Ballesteros Spain286−26 strokesEngland Neil Coles
South Africa Simon Hobday

References

  1. 1 2 "Crunch delays golf championships". BBC News. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "The English Open to be Played at St Mellion from 2009". PGA European Tour. 19 March 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  3. ↑ "English Open at St Mellion cancelled over lack of funds". BBC Sport. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
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