The Trophée Lancôme 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 which was staged in

Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche was built around 4 core hamlets near the Forest of M ...

, France from 1970 to 2003. Gaëtan Mourgue D'Algue, a French golf enthusiast from

, hoped to popularize the then little-known sport of Golf in France during the early 1960s. With Dominique Motte, he suggested the creation of a new championship trophy to Pierre Menet, the chairman of the

Lancôme Lancôme () is a French perfume and cosmetics house that distributes products internationally. A subsidiary of L'Oréal, Lancôme offers skin care, fragrances, and makeup. History Founded in 1935 by Guillaume d'Ornano and his business partn ...

Company. Their goal was originally to bring together eight of the best players in the world.

Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche was built around 4 core hamlets near the Forest of M ...

had hosted the 1963 Canada Cup and the

Open de France The Open de France is a European Tour golf tournament. Inaugurated in 1906 it is the oldest national open in Continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's inception in 1972. The 100th edition of the event ...

in 1965 and 1969. The tournament started in 1970 as the "Tournament of Champions" but from 1971 it was called the "Trophée Lancôme", named after Menet's company. It began as an unofficial event, in that it was not part of a tour schedule, but it was backed by the Fédération Française de Golf and by preeminent sports agent

Mark McCormack Mark Hume McCormack (November 6, 1930 – May 16, 2003) was an American lawyer, sports agent and writer. He was the founder and chairman of International Management Group, now IMG (company), IMG, an international management organization ser ...

who arranged for some of the world's top players to participate. The 1970 and 1971 the tournament was played over three rounds (54 holes), but starting in 1972 it was played over four rounds (72 holes). Originally contested by 8 invited players, the field was increased to 12 in 1979. From 1982 onwards it was an official money event 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 ...

, with an increased field size. In 1986

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...

and

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

were declared joint winners as they were level after four playoff holes when darkness fell. The tournament ceased operation after 2003.

Winners

Multiple winners

*4 wins: Seve Ballesteros (including one shared) *2 wins: Retief Goosen, David Graham, Lee Trevino, Ian Woosnam

Notes

References

External links

Coverage on the European Tour's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trophee Lancome Former European Tour events Defunct golf tournaments in France Sport in Yvelines