Imperial Collection Russian Open
Encyclopedia
The Russian Open Golf Championship was an annual golf
tournament on the PGA European Tour
, and the only one on the tour's schedule that was played east of the former Iron Curtain
. The event was established in 1993, and was held at the Moscow Country Club in Nakhabino, just outside Krasnogorsk
, Moscow Oblast
, Russia
.
Originally contested over the first nine holes at the Moscow Country Club as an amateur tournament while the rest of the course
was still under construction, the Russian Open became Russia's first professional golf tournament in 1995. It became an event on the second-tier Challenge Tour the following year, and was added to the European Tour schedule from 2003. Between 2003 to 2005, it was an official money event on both tours, and from 2006 to 2008, it was solely an event on the European Tour calendar.
Through 2006, it was held on the same weekend in August as the PGA Championship
, one of professional golf's four majors
, which automatically made it a secondary event. In 2007, was held the weekend before the PGA Championship, but remained an alternate event, this time to the Bridgestone Invitational
, a World Golf Championships
event. In 2008, it was held the week after The Open Championship
.
The 2005 prize fund of $
500,000 was around a tenth of those of the leading events on the European Tour, even leaving aside the major championships and World Golf Championships. However, it was one of the richest tournaments of the season on the Challenge Tour
. In 2006, when it became a European Tour only event, the prize fund doubled to $1 million, doubling again the following year, to $2 million.
The tournament is not on the 2009 European Tour schedule.
European Tour & Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour
Pre European & Challenge Tour involvement
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 on the PGA European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
, and the only one on the tour's schedule that was played east of the former Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. The event was established in 1993, and was held at the Moscow Country Club in Nakhabino, just outside Krasnogorsk
Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast
Krasnogorsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnogorsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, adjacent to the northwestern boundary of Moscow, on the Moskva River...
, Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Originally contested over the first nine holes at the Moscow Country Club as an amateur tournament while the rest of the course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
was still under construction, the Russian Open became Russia's first professional golf tournament in 1995. It became an event on the second-tier Challenge Tour the following year, and was added to the European Tour schedule from 2003. Between 2003 to 2005, it was an official money event on both tours, and from 2006 to 2008, it was solely an event on the European Tour calendar.
Through 2006, it was held on the same weekend in August as the PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
, one of professional golf's four majors
Men's major golf championships
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...
, which automatically made it a secondary event. In 2007, was held the weekend before the PGA Championship, but remained an alternate event, this time to the Bridgestone Invitational
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is one of the annual World Golf Championships for male professional golfers. It is sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours and the prize money is official money on both the PGA Tour and the PGA European Tour...
, a World Golf Championships
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships are a group of four annual events for male professional golfers created by the International Federation of PGA Tours, with a fifth to be added in 2012...
event. In 2008, it was held the week after The Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
.
The 2005 prize fund of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
500,000 was around a tenth of those of the leading events on the European Tour, even leaving aside the major championships and World Golf Championships. However, it was one of the richest tournaments of the season on the 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...
. In 2006, when it became a European Tour only event, the prize fund doubled to $1 million, doubling again the following year, to $2 million.
The tournament is not on the 2009 European Tour schedule.
Winners
European Tour| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Inteco Russian Open Golf Championship | ||
| 2008 |  Mikael LundbergMikael Lundberg Mikael Lundberg is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Lundberg was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. He represented Sweden in the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy and turned professional in 1995... |
267 (-21) |
| Russian Open Golf Championship | ||
| 2007 | Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson is a Swedish golfer. Like many European golfers he took a golf scholarship in the United States as sports scholarships do not exist in Europe... |
265 (-23) |
| Imperial Collection Russian Open | ||
| 2006 |  Alejandro CañizaresAlejandro Cañizares José Alejandro Cañizares Gómez is a Spanish professional golfer.Cañizares was born in Madrid, and is the son of five-time European Tour winner and four-time European Ryder Cup team member José Maria Cañizares. He attended college in the United States, where he won the 2003 NCAA men's golf... |
266 (-22) |
European Tour & Challenge Tour
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cadillac Russian Open | ||
| 2005 | Mikael Lundberg Mikael Lundberg Mikael Lundberg is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Lundberg was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. He represented Sweden in the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy and turned professional in 1995... |
273 (-15)PO |
| BMW Russian Open | ||
| 2004 |  Gary EmersonGary Emerson Gary Paul Emerson is an English professional golfer.Emerson was born in Bournemouth, Dorset. He turned professional in 1982 and after regular trips to qualifying school finally made it onto the European Tour in 1995. He has won the 1998 Netcom Norwegian Open on the second-tier Challenge Tour and... |
272 (-16) |
| 2003 |  Marcus FraserMarcus Fraser Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer.Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002... |
269 (-19)PO |
Challenge Tour
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| BMW Russian Open | ||
| 2002 | Iain Pyman Iain Pyman Iain Pyman is an English golfer.Pyman was born in Whitby. He was English Boys Stroke Play Champion in 1991, and played in a winning Jacques Léglise Trophy team the same year. In 1993 he won The Amateur Championship by defeating Paul Page after 37 holes at Royal Portrush, and was the leading... |
269 (-19) |
| 2001 |  Jamie DonaldsonJamie Donaldson Jamie Ross Donaldson is a Welsh professional golfer.Donaldson was born in Pontypridd. He turned professional in 2000. Having failed to come through the European Tour's qualifying school, in 2001 he played predominantly on the second tier Challenge Tour... |
270 (-18) |
| 2000 |  Marco Bernardini |
269 (-19) |
| 1999 | Iain Pyman Iain Pyman Iain Pyman is an English golfer.Pyman was born in Whitby. He was English Boys Stroke Play Champion in 1991, and played in a winning Jacques Léglise Trophy team the same year. In 1993 he won The Amateur Championship by defeating Paul Page after 37 holes at Royal Portrush, and was the leading... |
273 (-15) |
| Moscow Country Club Russian Open | ||
| 1998 | Warren Bennett Warren Bennett Warren Bennett is an English professional golfer.Bennett was born in Ashford, Surrey and is the son of former footballer Peter Bennett. In 1994, he won the Australian Amateur and was the leading amateur at The Open Championship... |
270 (-18) |
| Sovereign Russian Open | ||
| 1997 | Michele Reale Michele Reale Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year.... |
280 (-8)PO |
| 1996 | Carl Watts |
203 (-13) |
Pre European & Challenge Tour involvement
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| General Motors Russian Open | ||
| 1995 |  Simon Clough |
294 (+6) |
| Phillips Russian Open | ||
| 1994 |  Steve Schroeder |
|
| Russian Open | ||
| 1993 |  Konstantin Lifanov |
|