The Wales Open was a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

played at the

Celtic Manor Resort Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 o ...

. It was played annually from 2000 to 2014, as part of a 15-year deal between the tour and the

, that included staging the

2010 Ryder Cup The 38th Ryder Cup was held 1–4 October 2010 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. It was the 17th time the Ryder Cup had been staged in United Kingdom, Britain, but the first time in Wales. It was played on the newly constructed ''Tw ...

. The event was not held from 2015 to 2019 but returned in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, following a revamp of the European Tour because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 Noel McGinley (born 16 December 1966) is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which ...

, 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. There was another playoff in 2004 when

Paul Casey Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of LIV Golf. He has also played on the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. In 2009, he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Rankin ...

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. In 2006, Robert Karlsson broke the

'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

, that included staging the

. 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. 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. The event was dropped after 2014. The tournament returned in

as part of a revamp of the European Tour's schedule in response to the impact of the

. The event was the fifth 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. The 2021 event was sponsored by

Cazoo Cazoo is a British automotive online marketplace and classified advertising business based in Richmond, London, Richmond, London. Cazoo is currently owned by MOTORS, following its acquisition from Cazoo Holdings Limited by O3 Industries and Novum ...

as part of a multi-year sponsorship deal which also included the English Open. The event was also backed by international footballer

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

and called the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale.

Course

The event has always been played at Celtic Manor in

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

. From 2000 to 2004 it was played on the Wentwood Hills course. While that course was being redeveloped for the

, 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

Winners

Source:

Notes

References

External links

Coverage on the European Tour's official site
{{coord, 51.603, -2.933, type:event, display=title Former European Tour events Golf tournaments in Wales Sport in Newport, Wales Events in Newport, Wales Recurring sporting events established in 2000 2000 establishments in Wales