Hong Kong Open (golf)


The Hong Kong Open is a golf tournament which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour. It was founded in 1959 and in 1962 was one of the five tournaments that made up the inaugural Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit. It remained part of the circuit until 1996, before joining the Asian Tour, then known as the Omega Tour, in 1997. It became co-sanctioned by the European Tour in 2001, as part of the 2002 season.
The Hong Kong Open was played in spring from its inception until 1994, but since 1995 has usually been played towards the end of the year, in November or December, and as a result has often fallen into the following year's European Tour season.
Since taking its place on the European Tour the event has always been held at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Sheung Shui, New Territories. The Hong Kong Golf Association, Hong Kong PGA, and Chinese PGA receive a limited number of exemptions into the tournament for their members.

History

In 1958, Hong Kong Golf Club member Kim Hall wrote to Australian professional Eric Cremin to see if those players playing in the Philippine Open in 1959 would consider staying in the region to play in Hong Kong. Hall then approached Peter Plumley, secretary of South China Morning Post, who was also a golfer. Plumley then persuaded his boss to sponsor 1,000 Australian pounds in prize money in the name of South China Morning Post. Then, the first Hong Kong Open was launched in February 1959. According to Hong Kong Golf Club member Willie Woo, Kim Hall was very keen for the tournament and he talked a lot with Australian golfers, including Peter Thompson. Woo helped to get Taiwanese players through his connections.
The first tournament was hosted by Sir Robert Black, the then-Governor of Hong Kong. Around one thousand spectators joined the tournament. Taiwanese golfer Lu Liang-huan won the inaugural edition of the tournament. The success of the Hong Kong Open prompted first Singapore in 1961, and then Malaysia and Japan in 1962, to introduce their own tournaments and bring about the setting up of the Far East Golf Circuit. The circuit further expanded into a regular ten-tournament tour, called the Asia Golf Circuit, that existed until the end of the twentieth century.
Despite the SCMP's original agreement to maintain 1,000 pounds sponsorship of the Hong Kong Open, it was felt that prize money would need to be increased if the best players were to be attracted. To that end the 1963 event was jointly sponsored by the SCMP and British American Tobacco, with the purse being increased to 4,000 pounds as a result.
Due to poor weather conditions during the 1966 event, the Hong Kong Golf Club lost HK$10,442 as the money put up by the sponsors was insufficient to cover expenses. As a result, the club decided that in future it could not undertake to assist financially in any way, but would continued provide the courses and the general facilities. The 1968 tournament was the first edition to be shown live on television. In 1969, the newly formed the Hong Kong Golf Association took up the task of organising the tournament. In 1971, the Hong Kong Open was on the verge of disappearing due to low spectator numbers and financial problems, but with the assistance of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, who were keen to retain the event on the Asia Golf Circuit, the tournament was saved.
In 1996, Hong Kong golfer Dominique Boulet finished fourth, the best result by a local golfer. In 2008, Florida-based Hong Kong amateur Hak Shun-yat became the youngest player ever to make the cut in a European Tour event, at 14 years and 304 days, eclipsing the record set by Sergio García at the Turespaña Open Mediterrania in 1995. At the other end of the age spectrum, Miguel Ángel Jiménez became the oldest golfer ever to win on the European Tour when he won in 2012 at age, and extended his record by defending his title in 2013 at age.
In 2013, organizers and potential sponsors raised concerns over the complex becoming enmeshed in a controversial redevelopment plan for Fan Ling. The tournament was played that year without a title sponsor.

Winners

European Tour and Asian Tour event
* The first year listed is the one in which the tournament was played and the Asian Tour season which it belonged to. The second year listed is the European Tour season that it fell into.
;Pre-European Tour co-sanctioning
YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin
of victory		Runner-upRef
2000 Simon Dyson263−213 strokes John Kernohan
Charlie Wi
Kim Felton
1999 Patrik Sjöland269–111 stroke Ian Woosnam
1998 Kang Wook-soon272−122 strokes Ed Fryatt
1997 Frank Nobilo267−175 strokes Kang Wook-soon
1996 Rodrigo Cuello275−53 strokes Scott Hoch
Bill Longmuir
1995 Gary Webb271−132 strokes Rafael Alarcon
1994 David Frost274−10Playoff Craig McClellan
1993 Brian Watts274−101 stroke Chen Tze-chung
1992 Tom Watson274−103 strokes Ronan Rafferty
1991 Bernhard Langer269−157 strokes Choi Sang-ho
Lu Wen-ter
1990 Ken Green2054 strokes Brian Watts
Danny Mijovic
1989 Brian Claar2741 stroke Mats Lanner
Gary Rusnak
1988 Hsieh Chin-sheng2745 strokes Steve Bowman
1987 Ian Woosnam2754 strokes David Feherty
Sam Torrance
1986 Seiichi Kanai2851 stroke Ian Baker-Finch
1985 Mark Aebli2704 strokes Chen Tze-ming
1984 Bill Brask2687 strokes Greg Norman
1983 Greg Norman 1343 strokes Mark James
1982 Kurt Cox276−4Playoff Tom Sieckmann
Terry Gale
1981 Chen Tze-ming2791 stroke Graham Marsh
1980 Kuo Chie-hsiung2742 strokes Lu Liang-huan
1979 Greg Norman273−73 strokes Lu Hsi-chuen
Chen Tze-ming
Hsu Chi-san
1978 Hsieh Yung-yo2751 stroke Kim Seung-hack
1977 Hsieh Min-nan 2801 stroke Teruo Sugihara
1976 Ho Ming-chung2792 strokes Hsu Sheng-san
1975 Hsieh Yung-yo 2881 stroke Stewart Ginn
Gaylord Burrows
Ted Ball
1974 Lu Liang-huan 280Playoff Graham Marsh
1973 Frank Phillips 2781 stroke Ben Arda
1972 Walter Godfrey2722 strokes Takashi Murakami
1971 Orville Moody2662 strokes Haruo Yasuda
1970 Isao Katsumata2741 stroke Haruo Yasuda
1969 Teruo Sugihara2742 strokes Maurice Bembridge
1968 Randall Vines2711 stroke Teruo Sugihara
1967 Peter Thomson 273Playoff Brian Huggett
1966 Frank Phillips2752 strokes Hideyo Sugimoto
1965 Peter Thomson 2781 stroke Ross Newdick
1964 Hsieh Yung-yo 269Playoff Alan Murray
1963 Hsieh Yung-yo2723 strokes Tomoo Ishii
1962 Len Woodward2711 stroke Frank Phillips
Bill Dunk
Alan Murray
1961 Kel Nagle2616 strokes Peter Thomson
1960 Peter Thomson272
1959 Lu Liang-huan2811 stroke Bruce Crampton
Kel Nagle

;Notes

Scorecard

HoleNameYardsMetresPar
1Trench4684284
2The Trap1491363
3Fearsome5515045
4Temptation2882634
5Table Top1921763
6The Pimple4474094
7The Narrows3803474
8Oasis1881723
9The Bend4934514
10Holland3673364
11The Paddy4664264
12Short Hole1441323
13The Long Hole5294845
14The Bungalow3953614
15The Burn4263904
16The Road Hole4113764
17The Graves4063714
18The Ultimate4103754
Total6710613770