Kaito Onishi has claimed his first JGTO title with victory at the Fujisankei Classic in Yamanishi prefecture.
The 23-year-old overturned a three-shot deficit with a three-under-par 68 before beating South Korea’s Sanghyun Park with a birdie in a sudden-death playoff.
Onishi tied with Park, who could only muster a 71, on the 11-under-par total of 273 but it was the home player who prevailed when he reached the green in two at the par-four 18th and converted his first putt.
He became the third first-time winner of the season after Yuto Katsuragawa and Riki Kawamoto.
Onishi pocketed a well-deserved ¥22,000,000 for the biggest paycheck of his three-year-young professional career, and more crucially a Tour exemption that runs until the end of 2024.
Onishi was overwhelmed to have finally accomplished his title-winning ambition on his third attempt this year.
In May, he led the Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup for three days before settling for tied second and a month later, he came in runner-up at the Japan Players Championship after finishing one stroke behind Yuki Inamori.
“It feels like a dream, it certainly feels surreal to be a Tour winner,” said Onishi, who traded six birdies against three bogeys to send him to the top of the leaderboard.
“I feel that my hard work has been rewarded by winning today.
“I was able to play without losing concentration throughout the entire day.
“This shows that I possess a collective strength. You need all to be good in all aspects to win on this difficult course.
“Being able to win on a long and difficult course gives me lots of confidence.”
For Park, it was a case of so near, yet so far after he squandered a glorious chance to recapture the victory.
On the 18, where he was still holding a one-shot lead, all he needed was a par to repeat his 2019 success but ended up with a bogey, his fourth of the day.
“After my win in 2019, it’s a shame that I could not return to defend my title due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So, I wanted to win so much on my return this time in three years, but it was not meant to be,” lamented Park, whose four birdies on the first, fourth, ninth and 14th did little to help his cause.
The 39-year-old Park also heaped praises on Onishi, whom he regarded as the star to watch in the future.
“I thought I had a better chance of winning in the playoff as I’m more experienced than him,” he explained.
“It turned out otherwise. I think he’s a player that we have to pay attention to in the future.
“For him to be able to win the championship in the playoff with little experience, it speaks volumes about how talented he is.”
Hiroshi Iwata, Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup winner, carded a 70 to miss out on the playoff spot by just one shot as he was denied of a second title of the year.
Iwata finished third on 274, one ahead of fourth-placed Mikumu Horikawa (66).
