Read the full story on SportsLook - Yuto Katsuragawa Triumphs at ISPS Handa Championship for His First DP World Tour Title
Yuto Katsuragawa fired a course-record equaling 63 on Sunday, April 28 to win the ISPS Handa Championship by three strokes over Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg.
Katsuragawa drained a long birdie putt on the par-4 No 15 at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course in Shizuoka Prefecture to take a three-shot lead over Soderberg (67) heading down the home stretch.
The Japan tour player completed the back nine with five birdies in seven holes ― including a third straight on the 16th that allowed him to ease to victory with a 72-hole total of 17-under 263.
"I was very nervous on the back nine," Katsuragawa said. "My hands were shaking but I trusted myself and I managed to bring my golf.
"This course is beside Mount Fuji and very beautiful but it is a challenging course and I'm happy to win at a challenging course like this."
Japan's Ryosuke Kinoshita shot a final-round 69 to finish tied for third with South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhuit (65), Spain's Ivan Cantero (68) and Germany's Marcel Schneider (68).
The ISPS Handa Championship is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, the main men's professional golf tour of the European circuit, and the Japan Golf Tour Organization.
Katsuragawa Targets Becoming a PGA Tour Member
With the win, Katsuragawa is set to take DP World Tour membership with a long-term goal of achieving dual membership with the PGA Tour.
"I have been practicing a lot to stand on the big stage," he said. "I can now go on the DP World Tour which is really great and I'm really happy with it. I'm aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future."
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Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.
