Mynavi ABC Championship explained

Tournament Name:Mynavi ABC Championship
Location:Katō, Hyōgo, Japan
Establishment:1971
Course:ABC Golf Club
Par:72
Yardage:7217yd
Tour:Japan Golf Tour
Format:Stroke play
Month Played:November
Final Year:2023
Aggregate:263 Ryuichi Oda (2014)
To-Par:−24 Keita Nakajima (2023)
Final Champion: Keita Nakajima
Map:Japan#Japan Hyogo Prefecture
Map Label:ABC GC
Map Relief:yes
Map Size:200
Coordinates:34.91°N 135.101°W

The was a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It was played at the ABC Golf Club in Katō, Hyōgo, usually in October or November. It was founded in 1971 as a Japan vs. United States team match (there was also individual prize money and the event counted as an official win on tour). In 1988, it became a full-field individual event. The event is sponsored by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and Mynavi Corporation.

History

The tournament was founded in 1971 as the Miki Gold Cup, a nine-man team match between golfers from Japan and the United States. Results were based on the aggregate of the best seven scores from each team after 54 holes of stroke play competition; there was also a prize for the best individual score. The event was renamed as the ABC Cup in 1972. The following year, the best eight scores were used to determine the winner, and in 1975 the event was extended to 72 holes.

Between 1982 and 1984 the event was titled as the Goldwin Cup[1] (1982–83) and the Uchida Yoko Cup (1984), during which time it was contested as stroke play matches with two points were awarded for a match win and one point for a tie. The first two rounds were played as better ball pairs and the final two rounds as singles, from which the scores were used to determine the individual winner. In 1985 the event reverted to its earlier format and name.

In 1988, the tournament became a regular 72 hole stroke play event on the Japan Golf Tour, since when it has always been held at ABC Golf Club in Katō, Hyōgo. Sponsored by Philip Morris International, it was titled using the Lark brand as the ABC Lark Cup or Lark Cup for five years, until 1994 when it became the Philip Morris Championship. After Philip Morris sponsorship came to an end, in 2003 the event became titled the ABC Championship, with Mynavi being added as title sponsor in 2008.

In 2023, following the 2024 schedule announcement by the Japan Golf Tour, it was confirmed that the 2023 tournament would be the last and would not return from 2024 onwards.[2]

Tournament hosts

Years Venue Location
1988–present ABC Golf Club Katō, Hyōgo
1983 Taiheiyo Club (Rokko Course) Hyōgo
1982, 1984 Sobhu Country Club (Sobhu Course) Inzai, Chiba
1979–1981, 1985–1987 Sports Shinko Country Club Kawanishi, Hyōgo
1976–1978 Harima Country Club Ono, Hyōgo
1975 Ibaraki Kokusai Golf Club Ibaraki, Osaka
1973–1974 Hashimoto Country Club Hashimoto, Wakayama
1972 Ikeda Country Club Ikeda, Osaka
1971 Perfect Liberty (PL) Country Club Tondabayashi, Osaka

Winners

YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
Mynavi ABC Championship
264 −24 3 strokes Shaun Norris
271 −17 2 strokes Hiroshi Iwata
Daijiro Izumida
Riki Kawamoto
272 −16 2 strokes Mikumu Horikawa
Tomohiro Ishizaka
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
269 −19 1 stroke Shugo Imahira
273 −15 Playoff Masahiro Kawamura
203 −13 1 stroke Im Sung-jae
Yūsaku Miyazato
Ryutaro Nagano
Shingo Katayama (4) 276 −12 1 stroke Shintaro Kobayashi
Kim Kyung-tae (2) 272 −12 2 strokes Daisuke Kataoka
Won Joon Lee
Katsumasa Miyamoto
263 −21 5 strokes Koumei Oda
Hideto Tanihara
269 −15 Playoff Hur Suk-ho
271 −17 1 stroke Katsumasa Miyamoto
273 −15 Playoff Bae Sang-moon
275 −13 1 stroke Ryo Ishikawa
274 −14 5 strokes Takashi Kanemoto
279 −9 1 stroke Keiichiro Fukabori
ABC Championship
274 −14 Playoff Lee Dong-hwan
Shingo Katayama (3) 271 −17 Playoff Yang Yong-eun
Shingo Katayama (2) 274 −14 2 strokes Dinesh Chand
273 −15 1 stroke Ryoken Kawagishi
Toru Suzuki
265 −23 9 strokes Katsumasa Miyamoto
Philip Morris K.K. Championship
269 −19 2 strokes Toshimitsu Izawa
272 −16 1 stroke Hidemichi Tanaka
Toru Taniguchi
Philip Morris Championship
276 −12 1 stroke Hidemichi Tanaka
Shingo Katayama
Ryoken Kawagishi (2) 270 −18 1 stroke Katsunori Kuwabara
Masashi Ozaki (2) 275 −13 1 stroke Carlos Franco
Mitsuo Harada
Brian Watts (2) 280 −8 2 strokes Kaname Yokoo
Naomichi Ozaki (2) 278 −10 4 strokes Russ Cochran
David Ishii
Masashi Ozaki
278 −10 1 stroke Naomichi Ozaki
Nobumitsu Yuhara
276 −12 1 stroke Masashi Ozaki
Naomichi Ozaki
Duffy Waldorf
Lark Cup
283 −5 1 stroke Masahiro Kuramoto
Naomichi Ozaki
279 −9 1 stroke Masashi Ozaki
ABC Lark Cup
280 −8 2 strokes Roger Mackay
277 −11 2 strokes Masashi Ozaki
280 −8 4 strokes Toshiaki Sudo
277 −11 1 stroke Masashi Ozaki

Japan vs USA team matches

YearWinning teamScoreMargin of
victory
Individual winner(s)ScoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
ABC Japan-U.S. Match
2,227 3 strokes 269 −19 5 strokes
2,229 7 strokes 271 −17 4 strokes
2,557 2 strokes 276 −12 Title shared [3]
Uchida Yoko Cup Japan vs USA Match
align=center colspan=230–18 Tom Watson (2) 135 −7 1 stroke [4]
Goldwin Cup Japan vs USA
align=center colspan=229–19 141 −3 1 stroke [5]
align=center colspan=233–15 134 −10 Title shared [6]
ABC Cup Japan vs USA
2,246 35 strokes 271 −17 7 strokes [7]
ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches

2,280 Tie 276 −12 1 stroke [8]
2,306 5 strokes 276 −12 10 strokes [9]
2,273 53 strokes Isao Aoki (2) 273 −15 5 strokes [10]
2,079 2 strokes 280 −8 2 strokes [11]
2,273 15 strokes 277 −11 3 strokes [12]
2,266 42 strokes 273 −15 7 strokes [13]
1,752 9 strokes 209 −7 1 stroke [14]
1,785 17 strokes 218 +2 2 strokes [15]
1972 1,488 18 strokes 209 −4 1 stroke [16]
Miki Gold Cup
1971 1,484 9 strokes 208 −8 Title shared [17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: U.S. and Japan champs to collide in November . 3 February 2021 . The Morning Call . AP . 11 August 1982 . Allentown, Pennsylvania . C10 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  2. Web site: 2024年のジャパンゴルフツアートーナメント日程を発表しました . 2024 Japan Golf Tour Tournament Dates Announced . ja . Japan Golf Tour Organization . 22 December 2023 . 22 December 2023 . なお、今年52回と長きにわたり歴史を紡いできた「マイナビABCチャンピオンシップ(兵庫県・ABCGC)」は開催中止となりました。 . In addition, the "Mynavi ABC Championship (ABCGC, Hyogo Prefecture)", which has a long history of 52 times this year, has been canceled..
  3. News: Japan golfers top Americans match. 13 January 2021 . The Dispatch . UPI . 4 November 1985 . Moline, Illinois . 18 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  4. News: U.S. golfers defeat Japan . 13 January 2021 . The Times . 5 November 1984 . Shreveport, Louisiana . 4-C . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  5. News: Eight U.S. golfers win Goldwin Cup Championship . 13 January 2021 . The Galveston Daily News . AP . 14 November 1983 . Galveston, Texas . 4-B . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  6. News: Gilder, Peete lead U.S. over Japan in team event . 13 January 2021 . The Baltimore Sun . AP . 8 November 1982 . Baltimore, Maryland . C4 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  7. News: Clampett, US easy winners . 13 January 2021 . The Age . 9 November 1981 . Melbourne, Victoria, Australia . 31 . Google News Archive.
  8. News: Pate's victory earns U.S. tie with Japan match . 13 January 2021 . The Orlando Sentinel . 10 November 1980 . Orlando, Florida . Sports 2 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  9. News: Japan comeback sinks U.S. linkers in dual match. 13 January 2021 . The Tennessean . AP . 12 November 1979 . Nashville, Tennessee . 4 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  10. News: Aoki lifts Japan past U.S. golfers . 13 January 2021 . Wisconsin State Journal . AP . 13 November 1978 . Madison, Wisconsin . 27 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  11. News: Golf: Aoki leads Japan to close victory over US . 13 January 2021 . The Boston Globe . 14 November 1977 . Boston, Massachusetts . 25 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  12. News: Japanese stops U.S. in golf . 13 January 2021 . The Ithaca Journal . AP . 6 December 1976 . Ithaca, New York . 19 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  13. News: Japanese golfers whip Yanks in 5th tourney . 13 January 2021 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . AP . 25 November 1975 . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . 11 . Google News Archive.
  14. News: Green sparks U.S. win . 13 January 2021 . Asbury Park Press . Associated Press . 3 December 1974 . Asbury, New Jersey . C5 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  15. News: Japanese defeat U.S. . 13 January 2021 . Edmonton Journal . AP . 26 November 1973 . Edmonton, Alberta, Canada . 46 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  16. News: Aaron leads U.S. win . 13 January 2021 . Arizona Republic . Associated Press . 6 November 1972 . Phoenix, Arizona . 22 . Newspapers.com . subscription.
  17. News: Palmer comes into his own – second . 13 January 2021 . The Province . Province Wire Services . 8 November 1971 . Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada . 19 . Newspapers.com . subscription.