Tomoyo Ikemura completed a wire-to-wire victory for his second JGTO title on Sunday despite seeing his commanding four-shot cushion reduced to none with just two holes remaining at the ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament.
The 26-year-old held a three-shot advantage heading into Sunday’s finale in Fukuoka and seemed to be on the cusp of a comfortable victory after he powered to 24-under-par overall through 12 holes courtesy of an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.
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Two bogeys dropped at the 13th and 16th holes gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope of at least forcing a playoff, but Ikemura, who had his fiancé on his bag the whole week, showed resilience by swiftly bouncing back with a birdie on 17 to restore a one-shot lead.
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He then calmly rolled in a par putt on 18 to seal the victory with a final-round four-under 68, narrowly edging Ryo Hisasutne and Australia’s Brad Kennedy with a winning total of 23-under 265.
19-year-old Hisasutne, who began the day eight shots off the pace, fired a flawless 11-under 61 that included two eagles and seven birdies to finish joint runner-up with Kennedy, who marked his third top-four finish in his last four starts.
Yusaku Miyazato, the joint-leader at the halfway stage, finished with a strong 64, but it was only good enough for him to come in joint-fourth with Ryuko Tokimatsu on matching 267s.
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A relieved Ikemura was on the cloud nine after lifting his second title since his ISPS Handa Gatsu-n to tobase Tour tournament in October last year.
“This victory is especially special as I had to manage the pressure I was facing in the last few holes. It was not easy, given the quality of the players who were chasing me. But I’m so happy I managed to do it again, and it feels so good.
“On 17, I was feeling confident. I had to attack the pin and I was actually going for an eagle. I was 220 yards away from the hole and I managed to hit the ball nicely to the green with my five-iron. I managed to get my birdie from about 10 feet.
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“The putt for birdie on the final hole was about 15 feet. I decided to play it cautiously as I did not want to go into a playoff and I’m so happy I won the tournament with a par on the final hole,” said Ikemura.
Meanwhile, Kennedy will take the positives from the ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament rather than dwell on yet another near-miss of a fourth JGTO victory.
He can certainly take heart after moving up to eighth in the season’s money list on the back of his efforts.
“My game is very good at the moment. There are some very good swing thoughts, and I feel comfortable contending. I just need to find a few more chances,” said Kennedy.
“The course this week, you really had to shape your ball, which is what I love doing. The greens were great. I kept attacking but came up just short. I’m happy with my process this week, and I just need to work on my wedges, which is normally my strength.”
Following a hectic eight tournament schedule since early April, Kennedy will skip the Japan Players Championship in a fortnight and head back to Down Under to prepare for The Open.
