Mynavi ABC Championship

The Mynavi ABC Championship (マイナビABCチャンピオンシップゴルフトーナメント, Mainabi ei-bī-shī champyon gorufu tōnamento) 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.

Mynavi ABC Championship

Tournament information
Location	Katō, Hyōgo, Japan
Established	1971
Course(s)	ABC Golf Club
Par	72
Length	7,217 yards (6,599 m)
Tour(s)	Japan Golf Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	¥120,000,000
Month played	November
Final year	2023
Tournament record score
Aggregate	263 Ryuichi Oda (2014)
To par	−24 Keita Nakajima (2023)
Final champion
Keita Nakajima
Location map
ABC GC Location in Japan Show map of Japan ABC GC Location in the Hyōgo Prefecture Show map of Hyōgo Prefecture

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

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
Mynavi ABC Championship
2023	Keita Nakajima	264	−24	3 strokes	Shaun Norris
2022	Mikumu Horikawa	271	−17	2 strokes	Hiroshi Iwata Daijiro Izumida Riki Kawamoto
2021	Yosuke Asaji	272	−16	2 strokes	Mikumu Horikawa Tomohiro Ishizaka
2020	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019	Hwang Jung-gon	269	−19	1 stroke	Shugo Imahira
2018	Yuta Kinoshita	273	−15	Playoff	Masahiro Kawamura
2017	Tatsuya Kodai	203[lower-alpha 1]	−13	1 stroke	Im Sung-jae Yūsaku Miyazato Ryutaro Nagano
2016	Shingo Katayama (4)	276	−12	1 stroke	Shintaro Kobayashi
2015	Kim Kyung-tae (2)	272	−12	2 strokes	Daisuke Kataoka Won Joon Lee Katsumasa Miyamoto
2014	Ryuichi Oda	263	−21	5 strokes	Koumei Oda Hideto Tanihara
2013	Yuta Ikeda	269	−15	Playoff	Hur Suk-ho
2012	Han Lee	271	−17	1 stroke	Katsumasa Miyamoto
2011	Koichiro Kawano	273	−15	Playoff	Bae Sang-moon
2010	Kim Kyung-tae	275	−13	1 stroke	Ryo Ishikawa
2009	Toru Suzuki	274	−14	5 strokes	Takashi Kanemoto
2008	Ryo Ishikawa	279	−9	1 stroke	Keiichiro Fukabori
ABC Championship
2007	Frankie Miñoza	274	−14	Playoff	Lee Dong-hwan
2006	Shingo Katayama (3)	271	−17	Playoff	Yang Yong-eun
2005	Shingo Katayama (2)	274	−14	2 strokes	Dinesh Chand
2004	Makoto Inoue	273	−15	1 stroke	Ryoken Kawagishi Toru Suzuki
2003	Shingo Katayama	265	−23	9 strokes	Katsumasa Miyamoto
Philip Morris K.K. Championship
2002	Brendan Jones	269	−19	2 strokes	Toshimitsu Izawa
2001	Toshimitsu Izawa	272	−16	1 stroke	Hidemichi Tanaka Toru Taniguchi
Philip Morris Championship
2000	Toru Taniguchi	276	−12	1 stroke	Hidemichi Tanaka Shingo Katayama
1999	Ryoken Kawagishi (2)	270	−18	1 stroke	Katsunori Kuwabara
1998	Masashi Ozaki (2)	275	−13	1 stroke	Carlos Franco Mitsuo Harada
1997	Brian Watts (2)	280	−8	2 strokes	Kaname Yokoo
1996	Naomichi Ozaki (2)	278	−10	4 strokes	Russ Cochran David Ishii Masashi Ozaki
1995	Hidemichi Tanaka	278	−10	1 stroke	Naomichi Ozaki Nobumitsu Yuhara
1994	Brian Watts	276	−12	1 stroke	Masashi Ozaki Naomichi Ozaki Duffy Waldorf
Lark Cup
1993	Hajime Meshiai	283	−5	1 stroke	Masahiro Kuramoto Naomichi Ozaki
1992	Naomichi Ozaki	279	−9	1 stroke	Masashi Ozaki
ABC Lark Cup
1991	Yoshikazu Yokoshima	280	−8	2 strokes	Roger Mackay
1990	Ryoken Kawagishi	277	−11	2 strokes	Masashi Ozaki
1989	Brian Jones	280	−8	4 strokes	Toshiaki Sudo
1988	Katsunari Takahashi	277	−11	1 stroke	Masashi Ozaki

Japan vs USA team matches

Year	Winning team	Score[lower-alpha 2]	Margin of victory	Individual winner(s)	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Ref.
ABC Japan-U.S. Match
1987	Japan	2,227	3 strokes	Andy Bean	269	−19	5 strokes	Masahiro Kuramoto
1986	United States	2,229	7 strokes	Curtis Strange	271	−17	4 strokes	Chip Beck
1985	Japan	2,557	2 strokes	Tateo Ozaki Corey Pavin	276	−12	Title shared		[3]
Uchida Yoko Cup Japan vs USA Match
1984	United States	30–18		Tom Watson (2)	135	−7	1 stroke	Mark O'Meara Naomichi Ozaki	[4]
Goldwin Cup Japan vs USA
1983	United States	29–19		Tsuneyuki Nakajima	141	−3	1 stroke	Hale Irwin	[5]
1982	United States	33–15		Bob Gilder Calvin Peete	134	−10	Title shared		[6]
ABC Cup Japan vs USA
1981	United States	2,246	35 strokes	Bobby Clampett	271	−17	7 strokes	Akira Yabe	[7]
ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches
1980	Japan  United States	2,280	Tie	Jerry Pate	276	−12	1 stroke	Tom Purtzer Norio Suzuki	[8]
1979	Japan	2,306	5 strokes	Tom Purtzer	276	−12	10 strokes	Bill Rogers	[9]
1978	Japan	2,273	53 strokes	Isao Aoki (2)	273	−15	5 strokes	Kosaku Shimada	[10]
1977	Japan	2,079	2 strokes	Isao Aoki	280	−8	2 strokes	Tom Weiskopf	[11]
1976	Japan	2,273	15 strokes	Tom Watson	277	−11	3 strokes	Isao Aoki	[12]
1975	Japan	2,266	42 strokes	Tōru Nakamura	273	−15	7 strokes	Al Geiberger	[13]
1974	United States	1,752	9 strokes	Teruo Sugihara	209	−7	1 stroke	Hubert Green	[14]
1973	Japan	1,785	17 strokes	Al Geiberger	218	+2	2 strokes	Takashi Murakami	[15]
1972	United States	1,488	18 strokes	Tommy Aaron	209	−4	1 stroke	Bert Yancey	[16]
Miki Gold Cup
1971	United States	1,484	9 strokes	Billy Casper Masashi Ozaki	208	−8	Title shared		[17]

Notes

1. Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
2. Aggregate scores counting best 7 from 9 in 1971 and 1972; aggregate scores counting best 8 from 9 between 1973 and 1981, and from 1985; matches with 2 points for a win, 1 for a tie between 1982 and 1984.

References

1. "U.S. and Japan champs to collide in November". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. AP. 11 August 1982. p. C10. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "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] (in Japanese). Japan Golf Tour Organization. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 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. "Japan golfers top Americans match". The Dispatch. Moline, Illinois. UPI. 4 November 1985. p. 18. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "U.S. golfers defeat Japan". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. 5 November 1984. p. 4-C. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Eight U.S. golfers win Goldwin Cup Championship". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, Texas. AP. 14 November 1983. p. 4-B. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gilder, Peete lead U.S. over Japan in team event". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. AP. 8 November 1982. p. C4. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Clampett, US easy winners". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 9 November 1981. p. 31. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Google News Archive.
8. "Pate's victory earns U.S. tie with Japan match". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. 10 November 1980. p. Sports 2. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Japan comeback sinks U.S. linkers in dual match". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. AP. 12 November 1979. p. 4. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Aoki lifts Japan past U.S. golfers". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. AP. 13 November 1978. p. 2-7. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Golf: Aoki leads Japan to close victory over US". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 14 November 1977. p. 25. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Japanese stops U.S. in golf". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. AP. 6 December 1976. p. 19. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Japanese golfers whip Yanks in 5th tourney". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. AP. 25 November 1975. p. 11. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Google News Archive.
14. "Green sparks U.S. win". Asbury Park Press. Asbury, New Jersey. Associated Press. 3 December 1974. p. C5. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Japanese defeat U.S.". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. AP. 26 November 1973. p. 46. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Aaron leads U.S. win". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Associated Press. 6 November 1972. p. 22. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Palmer comes into his own – second". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Province Wire Services. 8 November 1971. p. 19. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Coverage on the Japan Golf Tour's official site