Jones returns to defend Visa title
BY Bruce Young | Japan Tour | 2008 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Preview | 12 Nov 2008
Brendan Jones returns to the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters this week where he will defend the title he so dramatically won over Toru Taniguchi twelve months ago. Jones holed a lengthy eagle putt from off the edge of the green to secure the title after he and Taniguchi were tied playing the final hole.
Jones will play the World Cup for Australia alongside Richard Green in China in two weeks time but before that he will play this week and next week’s Dunlop Phoenix event in Miyazaki.
The event regularly attracts some of the game’s best players and this year Masters Champion Trevor Immelman is the standout player in the field despite his lack of form since his magnificent win in April at Augusta.
Another winner on the PGA Tour in 2008, Ryuji Imada is also in the field. Despite his Japanese heritage, Imada has been a resident of the US since the age of 14. Now as a PGA Tour winner, he plays this event with new found status.
The tournament is played at the base of Mt Fuji with the Japan’s iconic mountain providing the most magnificent backdrop. The Taiheiyo Golf Club’s Gotemba layout is highly regarded with the greens amongst the best in Japan.
The Australasians in the field are Brendan Jones, Craig Parry, Wayne Perske, Steve Conran, David Smail, Paul Sheehan and Chris Campbell.
The tournament has a purse of ¥200 million or $A2.95 million.
