Aiful Cup

{{infobox golf tournament | name = The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki | image = | caption = | location = [[Omaezaki]], [[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]], Japan | establishment = 1998 | course = Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel | par = 71 | yardage = {{convert|6922|yd|m}} | lang =  | org = | tour = [[Japan Golf Tour]] | format = [[Stroke play]] | purse = {{currency|120,000,000|JPY}} | month_played = July | final_year = 2006 | defunct =  | aggregate = 268 [[Yasuharu Imano]] (2002)<br>268 [[Tatsuhiko Takahashi]] (2005) | to-par = −20 [[Yasuharu Imano]] (2002) | score =  | current_champion =  | final_champion = {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Toru Taniguchi]] | map = Japan#Japan Shizuoka Prefecture | map_label = Shizuoka Country Hamaoka CC | map_caption = Location in [[Japan]]##Location in the [[Shizuoka Prefecture]] | map_relief = yes | map_label_position = | map_size = 200 | coordinates = {{coord|34.655|138.095}} }} 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 [[Japanese yen|¥]]120,000,000, with ¥24,000,000 going to the winner.

== 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.).<ref>『産経新聞』2006年5月14日付大阪本社朝刊22面。</ref> 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).<ref>「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。</ref>

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== {| class=wikitable style="font-size:95%" !Years !! Venue !! Location |- | 2006 || Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel || [[Omaezaki]], [[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]] |- | 2004–2005 || Daisen Ark Country Club || [[Hōki, Tottori|Hōki]], [[Tottori Prefecture|Tottori]] |- | 2002–2003 || Golf Club Twin Fields (Gold Course) || [[Komatsu, Ishikawa|Komatsu]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture|Ishikawa]] |- | 1999–2002 || Ajigasawa Kogen Golf Course || [[Ajigasawa, Aomori|Ajigasawa]], [[Aomori Prefecture|Aomori]] |- | 1998 || Aomori Country Club || [[Aomori]], Aomori |}

==Winners== {|class=wikitable style="font-size:95%" !Year!!Winner!!Score!!To par!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runner(s)-up |- ! colspan=7|The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki |- | [[2006 Japan Golf Tour|2006]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Toru Taniguchi]] || align=center|273 || align=center|−11 || Playoff || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tomohiro Kondo]]<br>{{flagicon|KOR}} [[Hur Suk-ho]] |- ! colspan=7|Aiful Cup |- | [[2005 Japan Golf Tour|2005]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tatsuhiko Takahashi]] || align=center|268 || align=center|−16 || 1 stroke || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yasuaki Takashima]] |- | [[2004 Japan Golf Tour|2004]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Takuya Taniguchi]] || align=center|270 || align=center|−14 || 2 strokes || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Katsumasa Miyamoto]] |- | [[2003 Japan Golf Tour|2003]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Taichi Teshima]] || align=center|269 || align=center|−19 || Playoff || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Katsumasa Miyamoto]] |- | [[2002 Japan Golf Tour|2002]] || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yasuharu Imano]] || align=center|268 || align=center|−20 || 1 stroke || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Toshimitsu Izawa]] |- | [[2001 Japan Golf Tour|2001]] || {{flagicon|TWN}} [[Lin Keng-chi]] || align=center|270 || align=center|−18 || Playoff || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Toru Suzuki]] |- | [[2000 Japan Golf Tour|2000]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Dean Wilson (golfer)|Dean Wilson]] || align=center|271 || align=center|−17 || 1 stroke || {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Eiji Mizoguchi]] |- | [[1999 Japan Golf Tour|1999]] || {{flagicon|JPN|1870}} [[Toshimitsu Izawa]] || align=center|274 || align=center|−14 || 1 stroke || {{flagicon|JPN|1870}} [[Toru Taniguchi]] |- | [[1998 PGA of Japan Tour|1998]] || {{flagicon|JPN|1870}} [[Hidemichi Tanaka]] || align=center|273 || align=center|−15 || 1 stroke || {{flagicon|JPN|1870}} [[Toshimitsu Izawa]]<br>{{flagicon|JPN|1870}} [[Tatsuo Takasaki]] |} {{notelist}} Source:<ref>{{cite web |title=大会ヒストリー |trans-title=Tournament history |url=http://www.aifulcup.jp/history.html |website=Aiful Cup |access-date=31 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208175822/http://www.aifulcup.jp/history.html |archive-date=8 February 2006 |language=Japanese}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.jgto.org/pc/TourChampionsEng.do?year=2006&tournaKbnCd=0&conferenceCd=18 Coverage on Japan Golf Tour's official site]

[[Category:Former Japan Golf Tour events]] [[Category:Defunct golf tournaments in Japan]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1998]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2006]]