Costa Rica Open
Encyclopedia
The Costa Rica Open is a men's professional golf
tournament that was played annually in Costa Rica
until 2007. It was an event on the Tour de las Americas
from 2002 until its replacement by the Costa Rica Golf Classic in 2008, and was also co-sanctioned by the European Challenge Tour
from 2003.
The tournament was held at the Cariari Country Club near San José
every year except in 2004 when it was played over the Valle del Sol Golf Course near Santa Ana
. The 2006 event was renamed in order to pay tribute to the tournaments founder and promoter, Kai Fieberg, who had been killed in a car accident earlier in the year.
In 1979 and 1980, Cariari hosted the PGA
sponsored Friendship Cup, which is sometimes also referred to as the Costa Rica Open. These tournaments were won by Raymond Floyd
and Larry Ziegler
.
PO - Won after play-off
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament that was played annually in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
until 2007. It was an event on the Tour de las Americas
Tour de las Americas
The Tour de las Américas is the men's professional golf tour for Latin America.Top level tournament golf in Latin America has had an unstable history. Some of the national open championships in the region are long established, but they did not traditionally form a coherent tour...
from 2002 until its replacement by the Costa Rica Golf Classic in 2008, and was also co-sanctioned by the European Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
from 2003.
The tournament was held at the Cariari Country Club near San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
every year except in 2004 when it was played over the Valle del Sol Golf Course near Santa Ana
Santa Ana, Costa Rica
Santa Ana is a city in the Central District of Santa Ana, Santa Ana Canton, San José Province, Costa Rica. It is located at around . The city acts as seat to the municipal government of the Santa Ana Canton...
. The 2006 event was renamed in order to pay tribute to the tournaments founder and promoter, Kai Fieberg, who had been killed in a car accident earlier in the year.
In 1979 and 1980, Cariari hosted the PGA
Professional Golfers' Association of America
Founded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is made up of more than 28,000 men and women golf professional members...
sponsored Friendship Cup, which is sometimes also referred to as the Costa Rica Open. These tournaments were won by Raymond Floyd
Raymond Floyd
Raymond Loran "Ray" Floyd is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour....
and Larry Ziegler
Larry Ziegler
Larry Ziegler is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.Ziegler was born in St. Louis and grew up in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He was one of 14 children; he had seven brothers and six sisters. He began as a caddie and worked his way up to head club pro...
.
Winners
| Year | Venue | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Fieberg Costa Rica Open | |||
| 2007 | Cariari Country Club |  Miguel RodríguezMiguel Rodríguez (golfer) Miguel Ángel Rodríguez is an Argentine professional golfer.Rodriguez was born in Buenos Aires. He turned professional in 1998 and has played predominantly in South America on the Tour de las Américas and the Argentine TPG Tour... |
275 (-9) |
| 2006 | Cariari Country Club |  Johan AxgrenJohan Axgren Bengt Johan Axgren is a Swedish professional golfer.Axgren was born in Gothenburg. He turned professional in 1995.Axgren has won four times on the Challenge Tour, the first in 1996, and then once in 2004 and twice more in 2006, when he finished second on the end of season money list, to graduate... |
277 (-7)PO |
| Costa Rica Open 2005 American Express presented by BETonSPORTS.com | |||
| 2005 | Cariari Country Club |  Kyle Dobbs |
280 (-4)PO |
| Costa Rica Open | |||
| 2004 | Valle del Sol Golf Course |  Alessandro TadiniAlessandro Tadini Alessandro Tadini is an Italian professional golfer.Tadini was born in Borgomanero and turned professional in 1994. He finally qualified for the European Tour for 2003 after his sixth visit to qualifying school. He was unable to win enough money during his rookie season to retain his card and... |
278 (-6)PO |
| Costa Rica Open presented by Credomatic MasterCard | |||
| 2003 | Cariari Country Club | Sebastián Fernández Sebastian Fernandez (golfer) Sebastián Fernández is an Argentine professional golfer.Fernández was born in Buenos Aires. He worked as a caddy in Buenos Aires, before turning professional in 1991. He won the Argentine Tour Order of Merit in 2000... |
278 (-6)PO |
| American Express Costa Rica Open | |||
| 2002 | Cariari Country Club | Rafael Gómez Rafael Gómez Rafael Gómez is an Argentinian professional golfer.Gómez was born in Buenos Aires. He turned professional in 1990. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2003 and 2005–07 and the European Tour from 2005 to 2007. He played on the U.S.-based Nationwide Tour in 2004 and a few events on the PGA... |
289 (+5)PO |
PO - Won after play-off