Wales Open

Cazoo Open

Tournament information
Location	Newport, Wales
Established	2000
Course(s)	Celtic Manor Resort (Twenty-Ten Course)
Par	71
Length	7,393 yards (6,760 m)
Tour(s)	European Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	€1,750,000
Month played	August
Final year	2022
Tournament record score
Aggregate	260 Robert Karlsson (2006)
To par	−22 Scott Strange (2008)
Final champion
Callum Shinkwin
Location Map
Celtic Manor Resort Location in Wales Show map of Wales Celtic Manor Resort Location in Newport Show map of Newport

The Wales Open was a professional golf tournament on the European Tour played at the Celtic Manor Resort. It was played annually from 2000 to 2014, as part of a 15-year deal between the tour and the Celtic Manor Resort, that included staging the 2010 Ryder Cup. The event was not held from 2015 to 2019 but returned in 2020, following a revamp of the European Tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The 2001 event was reduced to 36 holes because of heavy rain. The third round was cancelled but organisers had hoped to play a third round on the Sunday. However, that was not possible and the result was decided over the first two rounds. Paul McGinley, Paul Lawrie and Daren Lee were tied at 6-under-par and a playoff was arranged on 12th hole, a par 3, which would be played repeatedly until a winner emerged. Lawrie dropped out of the playoff when he bogeyed the hole at the second attempt, McGinley eventually winning when Lee bogeyed the hole at the fifth try. ^[1]

There was another playoff in 2004 when Paul Casey and Simon Khan tied on 267, 21-under-par. Casey had a bogey six at the second playoff hole after which Khan holed a 3-foot putt for birdie. ^[2]

In 2006, Robert Karlsson broke the European Tour's 36-hole and 54-hole scoring records by scoring 124 for the first two rounds and 189 for the first three. However, as the Roman Road course was a par-69, rare at the professional level, his scores relative to par were a slightly less remarkable 14-under after two rounds and 18-under after three. Karlsson shot two-over-par for the final round, but still won. In the same year, Phillip Archer scored 60 in the first round, missing a birdie putt on the 18th green.

Sponsorship

The event started in 2000 as part of a 15-year deal between the European Tour and the Celtic Manor Resort, that included staging the 2010 Ryder Cup. It was originally known as the Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open, becoming the Celtic Manor Wales Open in 2004.

The 2011 event was called the Saab Wales Open under a one-year deal with Saab. ^[3] From 2012 to 2014, the event became the ISPS Handa Wales Open, with ISPS Handa as the title sponsor, and an initial prize fund in 2012 of £1.8 million. ^[4] The event was dropped after 2014. ^[5]

The tournament returned in 2020 as part of a revamp of the European Tour's schedule in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was the fourth event of a 6-week "UK Swing" and was again hosted at Celtic Manor and sponsored by ISPS Handa, although with reduced prize money of €1,000,000. ^{[6] [7]}

The 2021 event was sponsored by Cazoo as part of a multi-year sponsorship deal which also included the English Open. ^[8] The event was also backed by international footballer Gareth Bale and called the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale. ^[9]

Course

The event has always been played at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales. From 2000 to 2004 it was played on the Wentwood Hills course. While that course was being redeveloped for the 2010 Ryder Cup, the Wales Open was played from 2005 to 2007 on the par-69 Roman Road course. From 2008, the event has been played on the Ryder Cup Twenty-Ten course.

The 2021 course layout, at the Twenty-Ten Course ^[10]

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	465	610	189	462	433	452	213	439	580	3,843	210	562	458	189	413	377	477	211	575	3,472	7,315
Metres	425	558	173	422	396	413	195	401	530	3,513	192	514	419	173	378	345	436	193	526	3,176	6,689
Par	4	5	3	4	4	4	3	4	5	36	3	5	4	3	4	4	4	3	5	35	71

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse [lower-alpha 1]	Winner's share [lower-alpha 1]
Cazoo Open
2022	Callum Shinkwin	272	−12	4 strokes	Connor Syme	1,750,000	297,500
2021	Nacho Elvira	268	−16	Playoff	Justin Harding	1,250,000	191,570
ISPS Handa Wales Open
2020	Romain Langasque	276	−8	2 strokes	Sami Välimäki	1,000,000	156,825
2015−2019: No tournament
2014	Joost Luiten	270	−14	1 stroke	Tommy Fleetwood Shane Lowry	1,800,000	300,000
2013	Grégory Bourdy	276	−8	2 strokes	Peter Uihlein	1,800,000	300,000
2012	Thongchai Jaidee	278	−6	1 stroke	Thomas Bjørn Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Joost Luiten Richard Sterne	1,800,000	300,000
Saab Wales Open
2011	Alex Norén	275	−9	2 strokes	Grégory Bourdy Anders Hansen	1,800,000	300,000
Celtic Manor Wales Open
2010	Graeme McDowell	269	−15	3 strokes	Rhys Davies	1,800,000	300,000
2009	Jeppe Huldahl	275	−9	1 stroke	Niclas Fasth	1,800,000	300,000
2008	Scott Strange	262	−22	4 strokes	Robert Karlsson	1,800,000	300,000
2007	Richard Sterne	263	−13	1 stroke	Bradley Dredge Søren Kjeldsen Mardan Mamat Mads Vibe-Hastrup	1,500,000	250,000
2006	Robert Karlsson	260	−16	3 strokes	Paul Broadhurst	1,500,000	250,000
2005	Miguel Ángel Jiménez	262	−14	4 strokes	Martin Erlandsson José Manuel Lara	1,500,000	250,000
2004	Simon Khan	267	−21	Playoff	Paul Casey	1,500,000	250,000
Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open
2003	Ian Poulter	270	−18	3 strokes	Darren Fichardt Jonathan Lomas Jarrod Moseley	1,500,000	250,000
2002	Paul Lawrie	272	−16	5 strokes	John Bickerton	1,100,000	183,333
2001	Paul McGinley	138 [lower-alpha 2]	−6	Playoff	Paul Lawrie Daren Lee	750,000	125,000
2000	Steen Tinning	273	−15	1 stroke	David Howell	750,000	125,000

Source: ^[11]

Notes

1. Before 2020 the prize fund was always stated and paid in Pound sterling (£). Since 2020 the prize fund has been stated and paid in Euro (€).
2. Shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

References

1. "McGinley wins wet Welsh shoot-out". BBC Sport. 12 August 2001. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
2. Smyth, Helen (7 June 2004). "Khan drives Casey to capitulation". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
3. "Saab to sponsor Wales Open golf tournament". WalesOnline. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
4. "ISPS Handa to sponsor Wales Open". Today's Golfer. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
5. Corrigan, James (19 September 2014). "Wales Open becomes latest professional tournament to bite the dust after being handed last rites by Celtic Manor" . The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
6. "European Tour: Six-week 'UK Swing' will start season resumption". BBC Sport. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
7. "ISPS Handa on board to support UK's return to golf as title sponsor of Wales Open and UK Championship". European Tour. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
8. "Cazoo partners with European Tour as title sponsor of two UK Swing Tournaments". European Tour. 8 June 2021.
9. "Football superstar Gareth Bale lends support to 2021 Cazoo Open". European Tour. 2 July 2021.
10. "Cazoo Open: Course". European Tour. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
11. "History – Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 July 2021.

External links

• Coverage on the European Tour's official site

Coordinates: 51°36′11″N2°55′59″W / 51.603°N 2.933°W / 51.603; -2.933