Aiful Cup

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

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
YearsVenueLocation
2006Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & HotelOmaezaki, Shizuoka
2004–2005Daisen Ark Country ClubHōki, Tottori
2002–2003Golf Club Twin Fields (Gold Course)Komatsu, Ishikawa
1999–2002Ajigasawa Kogen Golf CourseAjigasawa, Aomori
1998Aomori Country ClubAomori, Aomori

Winners
YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki
2006Japan Toru Taniguchi273−11PlayoffJapan Tomohiro Kondo
South Korea Hur Suk-ho
Aiful Cup
2005Japan Tatsuhiko Takahashi268−161 strokeJapan Yasuaki Takashima
2004Japan Takuya Taniguchi270−142 strokesJapan Katsumasa Miyamoto
2003Japan Taichi Teshima269−19PlayoffJapan Katsumasa Miyamoto
2002Japan Yasuharu Imano268−201 strokeJapan Toshimitsu Izawa
2001Taiwan Lin Keng-chi270−18PlayoffJapan Toru Suzuki
2000United States Dean Wilson271−171 strokeJapan Eiji Mizoguchi
1999Japan Toshimitsu Izawa274−141 strokeJapan Toru Taniguchi
1998Japan Hidemichi Tanaka273−151 strokeJapan Toshimitsu Izawa
Japan Tatsuo Takasaki

    Source:[3]

    References
    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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