Two-time Japan Open winner Yuki Inamori powered to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup on Friday.
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Inamori, who began the day one shot off the pace, birdied three of his last four holes to card a successive four-under-par 67 at the Shishido Hills Country Club.
Inamori will advance to the weekend with a one-shot lead over the trio of Taiga Semikawa (66), defending champion joint overnight leader Takumi Kanaya (69), and Taisei Shimizu (65), on eight-under 134 after 36 holes.
Both Semikawa and Shimizu had the chance to join Inamori at the summit, but squandered it after dropping a bogey at their respective final holes.
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Last year’s joint runner-up Hiroshi Iwata fired a faultless 65 to share the fifth spot on 136 with Taisei Sato, who signed for a 67.
Inamori showed resolve in his pursuit of a sixth Tour title with two early gains at the first and fifth holes, before dropping his sole bogey at the 11th.
But he responded superbly with a hat-trick of birdies from the 15th.
Despite being in the lead, Inamori believes there’s an urgency to raise his game, especially his tee shots.
“My game is still not at its best. My driving is still shaky. Today, I just changed my positioning to avoid making the same mistakes as yesterday. I’m honestly still not satisfied,” said Inamori.
“Thankfully, my approach shots and putting, along with some improved iron shots, have started to come together. My distance control is also getting better, which helped my putting remain solid like yesterday. That contributed to this score today.”
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Semikawa, who has yet to impress this season, is taking plenty of positives although missing out on tying for the lead.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played this well. Taking a full week off has helped me regain my physical condition, and I feel like I’m in good shape,” said the 23-year-old, who only has a tied-24th finish for his best result to date.
“I do have confidence, but the results haven’t matched up yet.
“Winning this week will earn me a five-year exemption. I really want to win, But my priority is to play good golf consistently over four days.”
