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.

The Mizuno Open has been held at several courses, most frequently at JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Kasaoka, Okayama, which has hosted all but six renewals since 1998. The purse for the 2024 event was ¥100,000,000, with ¥20,000,000 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.

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, 2021–2025Setonaikai 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 victoryRunner(s)-upRef.
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open
2025Japan Mikiya Akutsu275−134 strokesJapan Riki Kawamoto South Korea Song Young-han
2024Japan Ryosuke Kinoshita276−122 strokesSouth Korea Koh Gun-taek
2023Japan Kensei Hirata271−17PlayoffJapan Keita Nakajima
2022Zimbabwe Scott Vincent276−12PlayoffAustralia Anthony Quayle
2021Philippines Juvic Pagunsan199−173 strokesJapan Ryutaro Nagano
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2019Japan Yuta Ikeda281−71 strokeUnited States Chan Kim
2018Japan Shota Akiyoshi287−11 strokeNew Zealand Michael Hendry Japan Masahiro Kawamura Japan Masanori Kobayashi
2017United States Chan Kim273−155 strokesNew Zealand Michael Hendry
2016South Korea Kim Kyung-tae277−111 strokeJapan Kodai Ichihara Japan Shugo Imahira South Korea Lee Sang-hee
2015Japan Taichi Teshima273−152 strokesAustralia Scott Strange
2014South Korea Jang Dong-kyu273−153 strokesPhilippines Juvic Pagunsan
2013Australia Brendan Jones (2)269−193 strokesSouth Korea Kim Kyung-tae
2012Australia Brad Kennedy271−173 strokesJapan Toshinori Muto Japan Toru Taniguchi
2011South Korea Hwang Jung-gon275−131 strokeSouth Korea Kim Kyung-tae
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic
2010Japan Shunsuke Sonoda201−153 strokesJapan Toru Taniguchi
2009Japan Ryo Ishikawa275−133 strokesNew Zealand David Smail
2008Thailand Prayad Marksaeng269−151 strokeJapan Azuma Yano
2007South Korea Lee Dong-hwan204−124 strokesSouth Korea Lee Seong-ho Taiwan Lin Keng-chi Japan Toshinori Muto Japan Achi Sato Japan Hideto Tanihara Japan Masaya Tomida
Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open
2006South Korea Hur Suk-ho274−143 strokesJapan Tatsuhiko Ichihara New Zealand David Smail
2005Australia Chris Campbell278−10PlayoffNew Zealand David Smail Japan Tadahiro Takayama
2004Australia Brendan Jones274−14PlayoffJapan Hiroaki Iijima
2003United States Todd Hamilton278−101 strokeAustralia Brendan Jones
2002United States Dean Wilson277−111 strokeJapan Kiyoshi Miyazato
2001Japan Hidemichi Tanaka272−163 strokesColombia Eduardo Herrera
2000Japan Yasuharu Imano274−141 strokeJapan Toshimitsu Izawa Japan Katsumasa Miyamoto
1999Colombia Eduardo Herrera274−142 strokesJapan Tsukasa Watanabe
1998United States Brandt Jobe275−134 strokesJapan Yoshi Mizumaki Japan Toru Suzuki
Mizuno Open
1997United States Brian Watts (3)278−102 strokesJapan Toshimitsu Izawa
1996Japan Yoshinori Kaneko270−184 strokesJapan Shinichi Yokota
1995United States Brian Watts (2)273−153 strokesCanada Rick Gibson
1994United States Brian Watts280−8PlayoffColombia Eduardo Herrera Japan Yoshinori Kaneko Japan Koichi Suzuki
1993Japan Seiki Okuda280−81 strokeAustralia Wayne Grady Japan Tateo Ozaki Japan Teruo Sugihara
1992Japan Tōru Nakamura282−61 strokeJapan Saburo Fujiki Australia Brian Jones
1991Australia Roger Mackay207−9PlayoffJapan Satoshi Higashi
1990Australia Brian Jones272−164 strokesJapan Tsuneyuki Nakajima
1989Japan Akiyoshi Ohmachi283−52 strokesAustralia Brian Jones Japan Fujio Kobayashi Japan Masahiro Kuramoto Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima
1988Japan Yoshimi Niizeki280−8PlayoffJapan Seiichi Kanai
1987United States David Ishii272−168 strokesTaiwan Chen Tze-ming Japan Tōru Nakamura
1986Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima239−116 strokesJapan Tsukasa Watanabe
1985Japan Tateo Ozaki Japan Katsunari Takahashi205−11Title shared
Mizuno Tournament
1984Japan Kikuo Arai (2)279−91 strokeJapan Naomichi Ozaki
1983Japan Eitaro Deguchi277−113 strokesTaiwan Hsieh Min-Nan Japan Tsuneyuki Nakajima Japan Shigeru Uchida
1982Japan Teruo Sugihara282−6
1981Japan Kikuo Arai274−122 strokesJapan Shigeru Uchida
1980Japan Norio Suzuki266−206 strokesJapan Yoshikazu Yokoshima
1979Japan Mitsuhiro Kitta272−162 strokesJapan Teruo Sugihara Japan Ichiro Teramoto
1978Japan Akio Kanemoto276−121 strokeJapan Shigeru Uchida
1977Japan Masaji Kusakabe (2)283−5PlayoffJapan Shigeru Uchida
1976Japan Masaji Kusakabe215−62 strokesSouth Korea Han Chang-sang Japan Shigeru Uchida Japan Takemitsu Uranishi Japan Yuki Watanabe
1975Japan Shigeru Uchida (2)215−13 strokesJapan Takashi Aoki
1974Japan Shigeru Uchida210−61 strokeJapan Shichiro Enomoto
1973Japan Shichiro Enomoto208−83 strokesJapan Akio Kanemoto
1972Japan Kazuo Yoshikawa
1971Japan Makoto Yamaguchi214−22 strokesJapan Shichiro Enomoto

Source:

Notes

External links