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.

The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki
Tournament information
LocationOmaezaki, Shizuoka, Japan
Established1998
Course(s)Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel
Par71
Length6,922 yards (6,329 m)
Tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund¥120,000,000
Month playedJuly
Final year2006
Tournament record score
Aggregate268 Yasuharu Imano (2002)
268 Tatsuhiko Takahashi (2005)
To par−20 Yasuharu Imano (2002)
Final champion
Japan Toru Taniguchi
Location map
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC is located in Japan
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC
Location in Japan
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC is located in Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC
Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC
Location in the Shizuoka Prefecture

Overview

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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.

Tournament hosts

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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

Winners

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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]

References

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  1. ^ 『産経新聞』2006年5月14日付大阪本社朝刊22面。
  2. ^ 「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。
  3. ^ "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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