Katayama wins UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship
BY Bruce Young | Japan Tour | 2007 UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship | Preview | 01 Jul 2007
34-year-old Shingo Katayama today claimed his 22nd Japan Golf Tour title and his first of 2007 when he won the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship at the Shishido Hills Golf Club north east of Tokyo.
Katayama has played several events in the US this season, where he made the cut at both the Masters and the US Open. He has been surprisingly quiet in his Japan Golf Tour showings in 2007 but this win moves him to third place on the 2007 money list.
Katayama started the final round two shots ahead and had a dream start when he eagled the opening par four first. He appeared at that stage to have a lock on the tournament but the unheralded Naoya Takemoto applied some late pressure with birdies at his last two holes for a round of 66 and closed to within one.
Takemoto is in just his second full season on the Japan Golf Tour and this is by far his best finish.
Also producing a big finish today was the brilliant Korean 20-year-old Dong Hwan Lee, whose last round of 66 moved him into outright third and retained his position at the top of the 2007 Money List.
Australian Brendan Jones continued what has been a great run for him in 2007 when he shared fourth with Tetsuji Hiratsuka after a final round of 67. Jones has not finished worse than 14th in all eight of his Japan Golf Tour events in 2007 and, along with a third place at the Jacob’s Creek Open in one of his only two other events in 2007, is having a great year. It is about to get even greater in a month’s time for Jones when he and his wife Adele are expecting the arrival of their first child.
Jones moved to second place on the Japan Golf Tour money list with Â¥41 million (A$395,000) and will play this week’s Woodone Open in Hiroshima before returning to Canberra to be with Adele.
New Zealander David Smail finished 15th while Scott Laycock was the only other Australasian to make the cut when 47th.
The Japan Golf Tour moves south west to Hiroshima for this week’s Woodone Open at the Hiroshima Country Club.
