The Mouchy Cup was created in 1927 by the Duc de MOUCHY, then a member of the Fontainebleau Golf Committee and President of the Union des Golfs de France, which later became the Fédération Française de Golf. The winner of this first edition was A.M. VAGLIANO, an illustrious figure in golf.
The Mouchy Cup quickly became the 1st official event of the season. At the time, it took place over 2 weekends. The 1st for qualifying in stroke play over 36 holes, then the second in match-play for the 4 qualifiers, extended to 8 in 1937. The order of match-play was determined by drawing lots.
It was not contested from 1939 to 1945 due to international events. In the 50s, it was decided that the competition would take place over the Easter weekend, with qualifying on Saturday over 36 holes, followed by match-play for the top 16 finishers.
In 1965, the qualifying event was named Patrick Frayssineau, in tribute to the young boy who had died the previous year on the course during the competition.
For 40 years, the competition has been played over 4 rounds of 18 holes – stroke play. Friday and Saturday are qualifying days. At the end of the round, the top 39 players and ties qualify for Sunday’s 36-hole MOUCHY Cup. The final ranking is based on the sum of the 72 holes.
The Mouchy Cup boasts some of the most famous names in the history of French amateur golf: Henri de LAMAZE, (7 times winner) Michel CARLHIAN, Jacques de SAINT-SAUVEUR, Hervé FRAYSSINEAU, Philippe CHASSAGNY. Closer to home, Alexis GODILLOT, François ILLOUZ, Philippe PLOUJOUX, Charles Henri QUELIN, Christophe RAVETTO and Joachim FOURQUET to name but a few. 2 players from the Fontainebleau Golf Club feature on this list: Gérard DESOUCHES, winner in 1960 and our Master-Pro Jean-Pierre HIRIGOYEN, 3 times winner in 1958, 1962 and 1963.
In 1999, Sébastien BRANGER added his name to the honours list by winning the event with a total of 271, i.e. -17 under par over 4 rounds, and beating the course record with a score of 63 on the final round.
Today, this competition brings together all the best French amateurs from all over France. Thanks to the quality of its line-up, it has become France’s 1st Grand Prix and is recognized by players as the “French Amateur Master”.
