Mizuno Open

The Mizuno Open (ミズノオープン, Mizuno ōpun) is a professional golf tournament played in Japan. Founded in 1971, it has been a Japan Golf Tour event since 1979. Since 1998, the event has been prefixed Gateway to The Open (全英への道, Zen'ei eno michi), with the top finishers gaining exemptions into The Open Championship.

Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open
Tournament information
LocationKasaoka, Okayama, Japan
Established1971
Course(s)JFE Setonaikai Golf Club
Par72
Length7,461 yards (6,822 m)
Tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund¥80,000,000
Month playedMay
Tournament record score
Aggregate266 Norio Suzuki (1980)
To par−20 as above
Current champion
Ryosuke Kinoshita
Location map
Setonaikai Golf Club
Location in Japan
Setonaikai Golf Club
Location in the Okayama Prefecture

The Mizuno Open has been held at several course, most recently at Setonaikai Golf Club in Kasaoka, Okayama in 2021.

The purse for the 2021 event was ¥80,000,000, with ¥16,000,000 going to the winner.

History

The Mizuno Open was founded in 1971 as the Mizuno Tournament with both men's and women's events running side-by-side. It was restricted to golfers using at least ten Mizuno clubs. In 1979, fifty leading professionals in Japan were also eligible to compete as the tournament counted towards the Japan Golf Tour money-list ranking for the first time. In 1983 it became a full tour event and in 1985 changed its name to the Mizuno Open. From 1991, the women's event was played separately.[1]

Since 1998, the event has been prefixed "Gateway to The Open", with the top four finishers in the tournament that were not already qualified gaining exemptions into The Open Championship. There has also been a mini-money list of Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the Mizuno Open that earns two exemptions into The Open. From 2007 to 2010 The Mizuno Open merged with the Yomiuri Open to form the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic.

Tournament hosts
YearsVenueLocation
1998–2006, 2011–2017, 2021Setonaikai Golf ClubKasaoka, Okayama
2018–2019The Royal Golf ClubHokota, Ibaraki
2007–2010Yomiuri Country ClubNishinomiya, Hyōgo
1976–1997Tokinodai Country ClubHakui, Ishikawa
1971–1975Anegasaki Country ClubIchihara, Chiba

Winners
YearWinnerScoreTo ParMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upRef.
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open
2024 Ryosuke Kinoshita276−122 strokes Koh Gun-taek[2]
2023 Kensei Hirata271−17Playoff Keita Nakajima[3]
2022 Scott Vincent276−12Playoff Anthony Quayle[4]
2021 Juvic Pagunsan199[lower-alpha 1]−173 strokes Ryutaro Nagano[5]
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019 Yuta Ikeda281−71 stroke Chan Kim [6]
2018 Shota Akiyoshi287−11 stroke Michael Hendry
Masahiro Kawamura
Masanori Kobayashi		 [7]
2017 Chan Kim273−155 strokes Michael Hendry [8]
2016 Kim Kyung-tae277−111 stroke Kodai Ichihara
Shugo Imahira
Lee Sang-hee		 [9]
2015 Taichi Teshima273−152 strokes Scott Strange [10]
2014 Jang Dong-kyu273−153 strokes Juvic Pagunsan [11]
2013 Brendan Jones (2)269−193 strokes Kim Kyung-tae [12]
2012 Brad Kennedy271−173 strokes Toshinori Muto
Toru Taniguchi		 [13]
2011 Hwang Jung-gon275−131 stroke Kim Kyung-tae [14]
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic
2010 Shunsuke Sonoda201[lower-alpha 1]−153 strokes Toru Taniguchi [15]
2009 Ryo Ishikawa275−133 strokes David Smail [16]
2008 Prayad Marksaeng269−151 stroke Azuma Yano [17]
2007 Lee Dong-hwan204[lower-alpha 2]−124 strokes Lee Seong-ho
Lin Keng-chi
Toshinori Muto
Achi Sato
Hideto Tanihara
Masaya Tomida
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open
2006 Hur Suk-ho274−143 strokes Tatsuhiko Ichihara
David Smail
2005 Chris Campbell278−10Playoff David Smail
Tadahiro Takayama
2004 Brendan Jones274−14Playoff Hiroaki Iijima
2003 Todd Hamilton278−101 stroke Brendan Jones
2002 Dean Wilson277−111 stroke Kiyoshi Miyazato
2001 Hidemichi Tanaka272−163 strokes Eduardo Herrera
2000 Yasuharu Imano274−141 stroke Toshimitsu Izawa
Katsumasa Miyamoto
1999 Eduardo Herrera274−142 strokes Tsukasa Watanabe
1998 Brandt Jobe275−134 strokes Yoshi Mizumaki
Toru Suzuki
Mizuno Open
1997 Brian Watts (3)278−102 strokes Toshimitsu Izawa
1996 Yoshinori Kaneko270−184 strokes Shinichi Yokota
1995 Brian Watts (2)273−153 strokes Rick Gibson
1994 Brian Watts280−8Playoff Eduardo Herrera
Yoshinori Kaneko
Koichi Suzuki
1993 Seiki Okuda280−81 stroke Wayne Grady
Tateo Ozaki
Teruo Sugihara
1992 Tōru Nakamura282−61 stroke Saburo Fujiki
Brian Jones
1991 Roger Mackay207[lower-alpha 1]−9Playoff Satoshi Higashi
1990 Brian Jones272−164 strokes Tsuneyuki Nakajima
1989 Akiyoshi Ohmachi283−52 strokes Brian Jones
Fujio Kobayashi
Masahiro Kuramoto
Tsuneyuki Nakajima
1988 Yoshimi Niizeki280−8Playoff Seiichi Kanai
1987 David Ishii272−168 strokes Chen Tze-ming
Tōru Nakamura
1986 Tsuneyuki Nakajima239[lower-alpha 3]−116 strokes Tsukasa Watanabe
1985 Tateo Ozaki
Katsunari Takahashi		205[lower-alpha 1]−11Title shared
Mizuno Tournament
1984 Kikuo Arai (2)279−91 stroke Naomichi Ozaki [18]
1983 Eitaro Deguchi277−113 strokes Hsieh Min-Nan
Tsuneyuki Nakajima
Shigeru Uchida
1982 Teruo Sugihara282−6
1981 Kikuo Arai274−122 strokes Shigeru Uchida [19]
1980 Norio Suzuki266−206 strokes Yoshikazu Yokoshima [20]
1979 Mitsuhiro Kitta272−162 strokes Teruo Sugihara
Ichiro Teramoto
1978 Akio Kanemoto276−121 stroke Shigeru Uchida
1977 Masaji Kusakabe (2)283−5Playoff Shigeru Uchida
1976 Masaji Kusakabe215−62 strokes Han Chang-sang
Shigeru Uchida
Takemitsu Uranishi
Yuki Watanabe
1975 Shigeru Uchida (2)215−13 strokes Takashi Aoki
1974 Shigeru Uchida210−61 stroke Shichiro Enomoto
1973 Shichiro Enomoto208−83 strokes Akio Kanemoto
1972 Kazuo Yoshikawa
1971 Makoto Yamaguchi214−22 strokes Shichiro Enomoto

Source:[1]

Notes
  1. Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
  2. Shortened to 54 holes due to fog.
  3. Shortened to 63 holes due to rain.

References
  1. "ミズノオープンの歴史" [History of the Mizuno Open] (in Japanese). Mizuno Open. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. "Mizuno Open / Kinoshita, Koh and Katsuragawa qualify for Troon". The Open. The R&A. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. "Four Japanese players qualify at Mizuno Open". The Open. The R&A. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. "Quayle loses playoff on Japan Golf Tour". Hawkesbury Gazette. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  5. Stafford, Ali (30 May 2021). "The 149th Open: Juvic Pagunsan wins Mizuno Open, carrying only 11 clubs, to secure major place". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  6. "The Open: Yuta Ikea secures spot at Royal Portrush with Mizuno Open win". Sky Sports. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  7. "Akiyoshi wins Mizuno Open to qualify for British Open". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  8. "Chan Kim wins Mizuno Open to qualify for British Open". Sports Illustrated. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  9. Prendergast, Paul (30 May 2016). "KT Kim's wild ride continues at Mizuno Open". Golf Grinder. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  10. "Teshima wins Mizuno Open to qualify for St Andrews". Mizuno Golf. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  11. "Jang Dong-kyu wins Mizuno Open". ESPN. Associated Press. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  12. "Brendan Jones wins Mizuno Open". ESPN. Associated Press. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  13. "Brad Kennedy to play British Open". ESPN. Associated Press. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  14. "Hwang nabs first JGTO title with win at Mizuno". Golfweek. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  15. Deleon, Steven (5 April 2012). "Sonoda's Mizuno Win Earns Open Start". Sooper Articles. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  16. "Ishikawa wins Mizuno to qualify for British Open". The Augusta Chronicle. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  17. "Prayad earns British Open ticket with Japan win". ABS-CBN News. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  18. "Arai wins Mizuno golf". Winona Daily News. Winona, Minnesota. AP. 25 June 1984. p. 16. Retrieved 30 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Veteran arai breaks nine-year lean spell". The Straits Times. AP. 11 August 1981. p. 30. Retrieved 30 January 2021 – via National Library Board (Singapore).
  20. McCormack, Mark H. (1981). Dunhill World of Professional Golf 1981. Collins. pp. 178, 392. ISBN 0862540054.


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