Jones fourth at UBS Japan Tour Championship
BY Damien McDowell | Japan Tour | 2007 UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship | Round Four | 01 Jul 2007
Brendan Jones continued his outstanding run in 2007 when he fired a final-round of three-under 67 and tied for fourth at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship at Shishido Hills Country Club outside Tokyo.
The tournament, known as the ‘players championship’ of Japanese men’s golf, was won by the flamboyant Shingo Katayama, who grew up in the local area and broke down in tears when he said the victory was inspired by his late father, whose grave he visited on Wednesday.
Highlighted by holing a 107-yard pitching wedge for an eagle-two on the 398-yard opening hole, Katayama finished with a 72-hole aggregate of nine-under 271 to collect the winner’s cheque for Â¥30 million (about AUD$290,000). Jones finished on a total of three-under 277, six shots behind Katayama.
For Jones, who said he needed to play the front nine well to have a chance of victory, four birdies going out briefly had him threatening the leaders. Further birdies on 11 and 15, though, were offset by three back nine bogeys, including at the notorious par-four 17th, where he found the greenside lake from the rough.
Said Jones: “The first nine I played was the best nine holes I have put together all year. I did not miss a shot and could have birdied every hole, but a few times I hit good putts but they just did not go in. That first nine was almost perfect.
However, a bogey to open the back nine ended the run and, perhaps, an outside shot at the title. “I just could not keep it going. The wind changed on 10 and I short-sighted myself and made bogey. Then the momentum stopped and it got difficult after that.
“But I am happy with the result. I have not played that well here in the past and I showed glimpses of what I am capable of but it just wasn’t meant to be. It was close, but we will have to wait another year,” said Jones, who climbed into second position on the Japan money list after this week.
Jones’ fellow Australian, Scott Laycock, the only other Australian remaining in the field, finished in tied 47th position after a 73 today for a four-day aggregate of 12-over 292.
“I played well today and drove the ball much better than yesterday. I just did not make any putts and that was the story of the round really,” said Laycock, who will now head to next week’s event in Hiroshima.
The UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship was played over the par-70, 7,214-yard West Course at Shishido Hills Country Club, located about 100 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, and offered a prize purse of ¥150 million (about AUD$1.5 million).
