The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 2021, when it was titled as the Cazoo Classic.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southport, Merseyside, England |
| Established | 1988 |
| Course(s) | Hillside Golf Club |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,109 yards (6,500 m) |
| Tour(s) | European Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | €1,750,000 |
| Month played | July |
| Final year | 2022 |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 268 Darren Clarke (1999) |
| To par | −20 as above |
| Final champion | |
 Richie Ramsay | |
| Location map | |
  Hillside GC Location in England  Hillside GC Location in Merseyside | |
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 and Clarke are the only two players to have won the title more than once.
History
editThe 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, due to the impact of the Great Recession, the revival was postponed until 2011 at the earliest.[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 was due to return in 2020 as part of a revamp of the European Tour's schedule in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was played at Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club as part of a 6-week "UK Swing".[8] When Hero MotoCorp agreed to sponsor of the scheduled event in July 2020, it was renamed as the Hero Open, and later separated historically from the English Open.[9]
The English Open did return in 2021, however a sponsorship agreement with Cazoo saw the tournament renamed as the Cazoo Classic.[10] Cazoo's multi-year partnership with the tour also included title sponsorship of the Wales Open.[11]
Winners
edit
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "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.
- ^ Plummer, Barry (9 August 2021). "NCG form expert Barry Plummer picks out three players to challenge for the Cazoo Classic..." National Club Golfer. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ Jackson, Keith (8 June 2021). "European Tour announces multi-year sponsorship deal with Cazoo". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2021.