Ryo Katsumata secured his maiden JGTO title with a one-shot victory over Takashi Ogiso and Mikumu Horikawa after signing off with a final round two-under-par 69 at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship on Sunday.
Related: Haunted by memories, Ryo Katsumata eyes redemption
Despite carding successive bogeys in his last four holes, Katsumata’s four-day total of 20-under-par 264 was enough to push him across the finishing line at the Izumigaoka Country Club.
View this post on Instagram
Katsumata looked in control for much of the day. He birdied his opening two holes, bogeyed seventh but picked up another gain at the ninth to make the turn in 34.
After offsetting a bogey at the 11th hole with a birdie at 12, he pulled three shots clear with a spectacular eagle at the short par-four 14th, hitting a wedge approach from 40 yards to perfection.
But the comfort of that cushion was short-lived. Admitting afterwards that he “relaxed a little too much,” Katsumata faltered with back-to-back three-putt bogeys at the 15th and 16th, which suddenly tightened the contest.
“I knew 19-under was already in the clubhouse, so I couldn’t afford to make another mistake,” he said of the pressure he felt down the stretch. “I wasn’t going to make birdie on 18, so I told myself I just had to finish with par.”
View this post on Instagram
He duly held firm with two closing pars, his final putt a delicate downhill effort that he later described as “embarrassing” for leaving his birdie attempt short.
The embarrassment quickly gave way to emotion when he turned to see fellow players waiting with water bottles for the traditional victory splash. “That’s when it really hit me that I had won. The tears just came on their own.”
The victory was particularly sweet for Katsumata, who had watched many of his peers and juniors win on Tour over the past three years while he struggled to break through.
“At the time, it felt so long,” he admitted. “Every week I saw others winning and it made me feel pathetic. Now, looking back, winning in my fourth year doesn’t seem that long. But it felt endless while I was going through it.”
The triumph also carried symbolic weight, coming in the final year of his twenties. Katsumata had long targeted a win before turning 30, after repeated conversations with his coach about building a winning foundation for his thirties.
“This is something we had talked about for a while,” he said. “I wanted to achieve it in my twenties, and now I can focus on becoming a player who wins consistently in the next decade.”
View this post on Instagram
His journey to this moment has been an unlikely one. Until the age of 14, Katsumata was a promising baseball player, but a knee injury forced him to switch sports.
Determined to catch up with golfers who had years of head start, he hit as many as 1,500 balls on weekends during high school, often sneaking in extra sessions before and after class. “I just loved it,” he said. “It never felt too strict or too hard. I wanted to keep going.”
“This victory has definitely made me stronger mentally. All week I kept reminding myself to just do what I do. That’s something I want to carry with me from now on.”
