Maruyama adds to Asian winners list

BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2002 Verizon Byron Nelson Classic | Wrap | 13 May 2002

Last week South Korean and this week Japanese. It would be fair to say however that this week’s win by Shigeki Maruyama was a lot less of a surprise than that of KJ Choi. After all Maruyama has won before, that being last year in Milwaukee, and in his third full season on Tour has finished 37th on the money list in each of his first two seasons. He had been playing nicely this season also with a fourth in Houston and a 6th in Tuscon along with a 14th at the T.P.C. He missed the cut last week but found the touch again quickly.

Maruyama had considerable success in Japan prior to joining the tour in the US, winning nine times from 1993 through 1999. He has likely now taken over the mantle that Isao Aoki and then Jumbo Ozaki held as the highest profile Japanese players. He is an immensely likable character and one who wins over the fans in the US with his smile rather than his language skills. He still struggles with his command of the English language but it is his golf right now that is doing the talking.

Maruyama took a three shot lead over Cameron Beckman into the last round and a birdie on the first was just the tonic he needed especially when, no doubt, news filtered through that Woods, who in each of the past two years here had produced final round 63s, had started well. The threats in the end came from a late run from Tiger and a quite sensational performance from Ben Crane who in his first season on the USPGA Tour finished second. Neither really seriously threatened Maruyama as long as he could keep going which is what he did and a two shot victory was his.

Crane, who had qualified for the Tour following as fifth place at the Tour School last year, produced a surprising result to hold second an in fact outduel Tiger Woods for second. When bogies on the twelfth and fourteenth saw him slip back to third behind Woods it seemed hardly likely that one so inexperienced would fight back with an eagle on sixteen and a birdie on seventeen to close the gap to just two as Maruyama played the last.

For Crane the cheque for $US518,000 must seem almost a dream especially after missing his last five cuts. It will be interesting to see what this massive boost of confidence gives him and where he goes from here.

Woods once again has produced a great finish at the Byron Nelson and now heads to Germany to defend his Deustche Bank SAP Open title before returning to prepare for the US Open. Els and Toms tied for fourth, Els courtesy of his hole in one on the fifteenth. Look out for Toms this week in Fort Worth. Another win for him must surely be just around the corner.

Robert Allenby was the leading Australian in a tie for eighth his best finish of the year and $US120,000, Peter Lonard 27th (that’s ten out of ten cuts in his first season for Peter), Phil Tataurangi 31st, Craig Perks 39th and Paul Gow 76th.