In 2012, South Korea’s Yang Ji-ho arrived in Japan to spread his wings and he struck at the first time of asking by winning the Novil Cup on the ABEMA Tour.
However, he was unable to achieve a further breakthrough on the JGTO despite having played two full seasons in 2012 and 2013.
Related: Keita Nakajima has a double in his line of vision
Little did the 34-year-old, who’s now plying his trade solely on KPGA, know that a decade later his moment would finally arrive in a ground-breaking tournament which is jointly sanctioned by the two Tours.
On Sunday, Yang claimed his maiden JGTO title with a dramatic one-shot victory over Keita Nakajima at the Hana Bank Invitational.
Despite bogeying late on the 16th, Yang showed nerves of steel to birdie the final two holes to finish on 20-under-par 272 and thwart Nakajima’s ambitious bid for back-to-back victories.
Yang also marked his scorecard with an eagle on the par-five 12th and three more birdies to close with a superb six-under-par 67 at the par-73 Chiba Isumi Golf Club.
Yang said the strong rivalry between South Korea and Japan in the sport brought the best in him, more even so knowing that he was facing off an in-form Nakajima, who finished no worse than a runner-up in recent three outings.
“I feel surreal right now. When it comes to the match between Korea and Japan, there is a fire between us. That became my power, and I enjoyed my game today. I am glad to win,” said Yang, who had also achieved his KPGA breakthrough just last year by winning the KB Finance Liiv Championship.
“I had not seen Keita until today. I felt pressured when I found out I would play with him because he won last week, and he must have had a good flow.
“I tried not to look into Keita’s eyes this morning to maintain my pace. He is a young player, but his distance is an advantage, and he stays calm all the time. There are many things I can learn from him.”
Yang added that he was also pleased to prove his critics wrong, who claimed his victory last year was just a flash in the pan.
“I won almost a year ago and have been greedy since then. When you get too hungry, your performance will not go well. I was struggling even to make the cut for a while,” revealed Yang.
“A few people said my last win was fortunate, which was heartbreaking. My wife told me to trust my skills and ability, so I am happy to return to the winner’s circle again.”
On whether he would make use of the two-year exemption on JGTO, he said: “I want to focus on playing in the Korean tour for the rest of this season, but the JGTO has been my dream stage growing up.
“I am glad to have a second chance to play in Japan. If the schedule fits, I will play in both tours.
Nakajima, who led by one at the start of the day with South Korea’s Jang Dong-kyu, also birdied the final hole to sign for a fine 69, but he still ended up a shot shy of forcing a playoff.
An early bogey on the third hole turned out to be a very costly one for him as even the five shots gained afterwards could only earn him a third runner-up finish of the season.
“I did my best today and I wanted to win badly. So, it was really frustrating,” said the last week’s ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament winner.
“I was especially annoyed with my second shot on the 18th hole. If I could hit like how I was shooting in the last 17 holes, I could have shot an eagle to force a playoff and give myself another chance (to win).
“I was actually calm even after making a bogey on the third hole. But I felt exhausted, and my ball striking was not solid throughout the round.”
Jang, the 2014 Mizuno Open champion, failed to mount a strong challenge as he eventually settled for outright fourth on 275 following a 71, just one shot back of Taihei Sato (68).
