Jinichiro Kozuma staged a gallant fightback as he sunk a brilliant 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to edge Yuto Katsuragawa to the season-opening Token Homemate Cup.
It was a welcome relief for the 27-year-old as he had earlier squandered an overnight three-shot advantage, opening the door for Katsuragawa to charge up the leaderboard and set up a dramatic finale.
Katsuragawa, who is playing his second full season, even looked set to celebrate a career breakthrough at one point when he fired three successive birdies starting from the 15th hole to leapfrog Kozuma at the top with just one hole remaining.
Kozuma would, however, stage a gallant fightback as he birdied his final hole to end regulation play with a two-under-par 69, forcing the contest into extra time at the Token Tado Country Club.
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling to have won this tournament under such tough conditions. I just didn’t feel right today, and there were so many emotions going through my head today.
“When I lined up for my putt on 18, I had no strategy anymore. I just made the putt based on my intuition, and lucky it went in. I did not give up until the very end, and I’m just so pleased with my win today,” said a jubilant Kozuma, who had led the tournament from the second round.
Katsuragawa, who began the day five shots off the pace, took pride in his final round heroics, where he birdied seven out of his final 11 holes for a sparkling 64 and a 14-under-par 270 total.
“I did my best and while I did not win today, I’m proud of the effort I made. It may not be my week, but I’m sure I’ll have another chance of winning next time,” said Katsuragawa.
South African Shaun Norris and Han Lee of the United States signed off with rounds of 68 and 69, respectively, to emerge as the joint-best international finishers in tied ninth place. Reigning Order of Merit winner Chan Kim finished tied for 16th place on 278.
Norris was delighted to notch a strong finish despite struggling with his ball-striking.
“It’s always nice to start the year off with a top 10 result in Japan as we’re just coming back and getting used to the cold weather here again. For me, it was a fight from the start. Also, I didn’t hit the ball well the whole week, so I’m going to take a lot of positives from this result,” said Norris.
“It’s a result I can be proud of. This has definitely given me the confidence for the long season ahead in Japan,” added Norris.
Lee was also pleased with his efforts for the week, and believes his game can only get better.
“I’m doing okay. I really want to work on a couple of things, like my ball flights, but other than that, my putting has been really good. My game is trending in the right direction,” said Lee.
