Oda downs superstar to win Japan Open
BY Bruce Young | Japan Tour | 2009 Japan Open | Round Four | 18 Oct 2009
Ryuichi Oda made his first victory in Japan a very special one when he today defeated Yasuharu Imano and Japan’s hottest golfer Ryo Ishikawa in a playoff to win the Japan Golf Open at the Musashi Country Club in Saitama Japan.
Early in the final round it appeared that 18-year-old Ishikawa would win his first Japan Open when he extended his one shot third round lead with a birdie at the first and at that point had taken a three shot lead as his nearest rivals struggled to stay in touch.
Ishikawa had been impressive when bouncing back from a second round of 76 with a third round of 65 to snatch the lead. Perhaps it was the taxing two weeks Ishikawa had experienced that began to take its toll but a double bogey at the 6th and a bogey at the 9th changed the complexion of the tournament.
Oda, Ishikawa and Imano broke clear of the pack over the closing nine holes but it would take a last hole birdie by Oda for him to eventually be part of the playoff.
Oda finished third at one of the Japan Golf Tour’s other flagship events earlier this season, the Japan PGA Championship, and has been twice runner up in his now eight year career but this is a victory that will make things a lot easier in his future years on the Japan Golf Tour. Not only does he win the ¥40 million first prize but Oda gains several years of exemption in Japan as a result.
David Smail led the Australasians, finishing in share of 6th position with a final round of 73, Brendan Jones began his final round with two birdies to move within three of the lead but eventually finished with 72 and a share of 10th position while Steve Conran was the only other to make the cut and finished 35th.
A massive 17,600 people crowded the Musashi Country Club in what must be one of the largest crowds seen on a golf course in Japan all no doubt hoping for an Ishikawa victory. It was not to be but he did not exactly let them down. It is the second year in succession that Ishikawa has finished runner up in this event.
The Japan Golf Tour now travels to Chiba on the other side of Tokyo for this week’s Bridgestone Open.
