Kazuki Higa made his move on Friday to seize the halfway lead at the ISPS HANDA Explosion in the summer event, carding a 10-under-par 62 to move clear of the chasing pack with his two-day total of 17-under-par.
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Starting the round tied for 11th place and three shots off the lead at the Gozensui Golf Club, the 2022 JGTO Money Ranking champion kept mistakes to a minimum and capitalised on his opportunities, rolling in key putts and maintaining his composure despite the low-scoring nature of the event.
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“It wasn’t like I was sticking it really close every time, but the putts from around one pin length kept going in,” said Higa. “I missed fewer greens than yesterday and gave myself more chances. My tee shots weren’t all that different, but I definitely had more birdie looks.”
While the leaderboard saw plenty of movement throughout the day, Higa admitted he was not preoccupied with chasing a spectacular score. “Not at all. Even so, with everyone else going low, I didn’t think my position would improve much. I figured there would be players going even lower. I wasn’t especially trying to push for a big score.”
Higa’s putting, he said, has been a key factor. “My reads feel spot-on. The greens are slower than they look, so I’ve been trying to hit them firmly. On the front nine, I made sure to do that and they went in, but on the back-nine, I left myself more downhill putts and came up short a few times.”
The 30-year-old has also been managing a right knee injury sustained in the off-season, which forced him to withdraw from the pre-tournament pro-am. “I hurt my right knee after muscle training when I went all out swinging the driver. The pain is mostly gone now, but I still feel nervous on full shots as they can turn into ‘scared swings,” he said with a smile. “Maybe not executing a full swing is actually working in my favour.”
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Looking ahead to the weekend, Higa knows he will need to sustain his momentum even as he holds a slender shot advantage over Satoshi Hara and Ryunosuke Furukawa, who returned with matching 64s.
“With everyone going low, I think you need big scores over all four days to win. This is a course where one mistake can cost you quickly, so avoiding bogeys is crucial. The number of birdies matters, but minimising mistakes will be just as important.”
