While it was his sixth Japan Tour title, he had yet to taste success on the Asian Tour until Sunday, and it was a close-run thing.

Imahira prevailed by one shot on eight-under for the tournament thanks to a rock-solid finish of pars down the closing stretch, while his rivals were dropping shots.

He closed with a two-under 68 with his compatriots Kosuke Suzuki, an amateur, Hiroshi Iwata, Kaito Onishi, and Yuto Katsuragawa all in T-2.

Suzuki came charging out of the pack with a 63 — thanks to a brilliant back nine of five-under-par 30 -— Iwata shot 68, while Onishi, who chipped in for birdie on 18, and Katsuragawa both carded 70s.

Imahira’s win also earned him a place in the field for The Open at St Andrews in July -— an event he has played in twice before.

The 29-year-old started the day one behind overnight leaders Onishi, Katsuragawa, Japan’s Ryuko Tokimatsu and New Zealander Ben Campbell but finished first helped by a brave back nine made up of eight pars and a birdie, on the par-five 15th.

It was a different story for Iwata, Onishi and Katsuragawa on the homeward nine as they dropped shots at critical moments. Onishi and Katsuragawa, in particular, both made double-bogeys, on 13 and 15 respectively, while the latter made a costly bogey on 17 which opened the door for Imahira.

Suzuki, just 21 years old, was the only other player who got to grips with the back nine — he made three birdies in a row from the 11th and an eagle on 15 — but having started the day seven off the lead the gap proved too big to close.

“I am really happy with this victory. I haven’t really performed well this year, so I’m glad I am able to win early,” said Imahira, who won the JGTO money list title in 2018 and 2019 and whose last victory was the 2021 Fujisankei Classic.

“The Open was my goal at the start of this season. My 172 world ranking isn’t good enough to get me into overseas events, so getting into The Open by winning this week is amazing. The goal was to be a major player rather than a prize winner.”

The post Shugo Imahira claims first Asian Tour title at Asia Pacific Open Championship on home turf in Japan appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Japanese rising star Kaito Onishi took the clubhouse lead at the Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup on Friday — adding a three-under 67 to his opening 65.

Onishi, was joint overnight leader with countryman Hiroshi Iwata, but opened up a five-shot lead, on eight under, mid-way through round two at a wet at Oarai Golf Club, near Tokyo.

While Onishi was rattling in five birdies to offset two bogeys and maintain his challenge, Iwata slipped back with a 74 and is one-under for the tournament, which has returned to the Asian Tour for the first time since 2019.

Rookie Onishi only turned professional last year after graduating from the University of Southern California, but has already chalked up a fourthplace finish in last month’s ISPS Handa Championship.

“I’m happy to be in the lead and I hope I have the momentum over the next two days,” said Onishi, 23, from Nagoya.

“I need to focus on each shot and not think about my position. The goal is to win, and I am confident I can do that.”

By the time the afternoon players had signed their cards, local pair Yuki Inamori and Rikuya Hoshino, plus Australian Todd Sinnott, had all moved within two shots of Onishi on six-under.

It certainly as a strong showing by the local players as Shugo Imahira sat fifth on five-under and Yuto Katsuragawa was on his own in sixth place on four-under.

But it was still Onishi who had the upper hand going into Saturday’s third round.

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The post Asian Tour: Rookie Kaito Onishi moves to the front at Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship in Tokyo appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
American Berry Henson ensured he was in the mix at the Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship to keep alive his dream of playing at the Open Championship

Henson was among the best morning players to take a share of the lead alongside Todd Sinnott from Australia and Japan’s Shugo Imahira at Oarai Golf Club after carding four-under-par 66s.

Eight players fired 67s including Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa, currently first on Japan’s money list, and his young compatriot Keita Nakajima – the world’s No. 1 amateur.

Henson traded seven birdies with three bogeys and felt playing aggressive paid dividends.

“The course is very difficult. It’s a real golf course this week. You have to hit the fairways, you have to hit the greens, and you have to put it in the right position to make the putts. I did a pretty good job today,” said the American.

“Japan has its own style of golf. Every time I come here, I have to adapt, I have to change, and I have to learn how to play this style. I’ve played here now for 10 years. This year I came thinking I need to play more aggressively as that’s what I see the top players do. Even if it’s a difficult shot, they play so aggressively. I did that today and it worked out.”

This week’s winner will earn a place in The Open at St Andrews in July and that is something on the 42 year old’s radar.

He added: “My goal is to win this week. I came here with an aim to grab The Open spot. My life goal is to play the British open at St. Andrews. I was aiming for that since the start of the year. Another life goal is to play the US Open at Pebble Beach. I want to just enjoy myself here in Japan. I love sushi and I enjoy Japanese food.”

Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, buoyed this week by receiving an invite to next week’s PGA Championship, came in with a 69.

He said: “I’m playing in my first Major next week at the PGA Championship. It’s my first time playing in the United States. I was preparing to play my first Major at The Open in July. Getting into the PGA Championship was really a surprise to me. My caddie found out about it on Monday and told me. I heard the courses for PGA Championship are very difficult, but we are still very excited.”

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The post Asian Tour: Berry Henson in the hunt for dream ticket to Open Championship at St Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.