Aiful_Cup
Aiful Cup
Golf tournament
The Aiful Cup was a professional golf tournament held in Japan from 1998 to 2006. It was an event on the Japan Golf Tour and was played at a variety of courses throughout Japan. The final event in 2006 was titled The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki with a purse of ¥120,000,000, with ¥24,000,000 going to the winner.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Omaezaki, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Established | 1998 |
| Course(s) | Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,922 yards (6,329 m) |
| Tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | ¥120,000,000 |
| Month played | July |
| Final year | 2006 |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 268 Yasuharu Imano (2002) 268 Tatsuhiko Takahashi (2005) |
| To par | −20 Yasuharu Imano (2002) |
| Final champion | |
 Toru Taniguchi | |
| Location map | |
The tournament was originally planned to be held as the "Aiful Cup Golf Tournament" under the special sponsorship of Aiful, a major consumer finance company.
However, Aiful's violations of the Money Lending Business Control and Regulation Law, including aggressive sales activities, severe collections, and illegal interest rates, were discovered and became a social problem. The 2006 tournament was held under the same name as the original agreement (120 million yen prize money, 24 million yen prize money for the winner, etc.).[1] However, the tournament was abandoned after 2007 due to "various circumstances surrounding the consumer finance industry" (for the same reason, the "ACOM International" and the "LPGA Takefuji Classic" were also abandoned).[2]
The Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course, the venue of the tournament, used to be the site of the "DAIDOH DRINKO Shizuoka Open" (sponsored by Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting) held every year in late March.
| Years | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel | Omaezaki, Shizuoka |
| 2004–2005 | Daisen Ark Country Club | Hōki, Tottori |
| 2002–2003 | Golf Club Twin Fields (Gold Course) | Komatsu, Ishikawa |
| 1999–2002 | Ajigasawa Kogen Golf Course | Ajigasawa, Aomori |
| 1998 | Aomori Country Club | Aomori, Aomori |
| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki | ||||||
| 2006 | Toru Taniguchi | 273 | −11 | Playoff | Tomohiro Kondo Hur Suk-ho | |
| Aiful Cup | ||||||
| 2005 | Tatsuhiko Takahashi | 268 | −16 | 1 stroke | Yasuaki Takashima | |
| 2004 | Takuya Taniguchi | 270 | −14 | 2 strokes | Katsumasa Miyamoto | |
| 2003 | Taichi Teshima | 269 | −19 | Playoff | Katsumasa Miyamoto | |
| 2002 | Yasuharu Imano | 268 | −20 | 1 stroke | Toshimitsu Izawa | |
| 2001 |  Lin Keng-chi | 270 | −18 | Playoff | Toru Suzuki | |
| 2000 |  Dean Wilson | 271 | −17 | 1 stroke | Eiji Mizoguchi | |
| 1999 |  Toshimitsu Izawa | 274 | −14 | 1 stroke | Toru Taniguchi | |
| 1998 | Hidemichi Tanaka | 273 | −15 | 1 stroke | Toshimitsu Izawa Tatsuo Takasaki | |
Source:[3]
- 『産経新聞』2006年5月14日付大阪本社朝刊22面。
- 「ゴルフツアー来季4戦以上消える 男の出番激減 止まらぬスポンサー撤退 賞金30億割れも」『日刊スポーツ』2006年（平成18年）11月9日付10面。
- "大会ヒストリー" [Tournament history]. Aiful Cup (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 February 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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