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.
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]
^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.
^"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.]
^"Japan golfers top Americans match". The Dispatch. Moline, Illinois. UPI. 4 November 1985. p. 18. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"U.S. golfers defeat Japan". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. 5 November 1984. p. 4-C. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"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.
^"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.
^"Japanese defeat U.S.". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. AP. 26 November 1973. p. 46. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Aaron leads U.S. win". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Associated Press. 6 November 1972. p. 22. Retrieved 13 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"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.
