Veteran Hiroshi Iwata staged a spirited fightback on his back-nine, firing five birdies to pip Taisei Shimizu to the Casio World Open title by one shot on Sunday.
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The 43-year-old closed with a four-under-par 68 for a four-day winning total of 14-under-par 274 at the Kochi Kuroshiro Country Club to claim his seventh JGTO title and second win this season.
Shimizu’s wait for his JGTO breakthrough continued as another birdie – which would have forced a playoff with Iwata – proved elusive, leaving him to settle for second place again. It was the 25-year-old’s second runner-up finish in three months and eight top-10 finish this season.
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New Zealand’s Michael Hendry, who held a share of the overnight lead, signed off with a 72 to end the week in solo third place.
Iwata entered the round in tied-sixth, two shots back of Hendry. After mixing two bogeys and two birdies for an outward 36, Iwata charged ahead with two birdies on holes 10 and 11.
He lost his momentum momentarily with a bogey on 12 but recovered quickly with another pair of birdies on 15 and 16 before closing with two pars on 17 and 18.
“I didn’t feel like I had any chance of winning today, especially on the front-nine. But surprisingly, the leaders weren’t pulling away. Winning the title then became a possibility when I was standing on the 13th tee and looked up at the leaderboard.
“I thought it was going to a playoff and didn’t realise I won until people came to tell me. It hasn’t sunk in yet but I’m sure I’ll savour this moment,” said Iwata.
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With the JT Cup remaining as the season-ending event next week, Shimizu is now looking forward to ending his season on a high note with the experience he has gained this week.
“Next week is the last event, and I really want to win,” said Shimizu. “It has been an incredibly emotional experience for me this week. Hitting those straight tee shots under pressure gave me confidence for similar situations in the future. That said, my main challenge is putting. I couldn’t sink the crucial putts in the back nine.”
