Ryuichi Oiwa clinched his maiden JGTO title after he outplayed Kosuke Sunagawa with a birdie on the second playoff hole to win the Casio World Open Golf Tournament on Sunday.
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The 27-year-old looked destined to settle for second place at the penultimate event on the 2025 JGTO season until a crucial clutch birdie at the last forced the contest into sudden death.
Oiwa started the final round two shots off the pace but quickly made up ground by storming to the turn in 32, highlighted by four birdies on holes one, three, five and eight.
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He continued his birdie blitz with two more birdies on 10 and 12 before his closing birdie on 18 – where he faced a tough second shot of about 250 yards – saw him close out regulation play with a seven-under-par 65 and 21-under-par 267 total.
“With a wood it felt a bit too much, so I tried to take something off the shot.
“It finished short, leaving me about 25 yards, but I hit the approach to a little over a metre and made the birdie. That was the moment that kept me alive,” recalled Oiwa.
In regulation, both Oiwa and Sunagawa parred the par-five 18th on the first playoff hole. On the second trip down the same hole, however, Oiwa seized his chance, rolling in the winning birdie while Sunagawa could only make par.
The victory at Kochi Kuroshio Country Club. was especially meaningful for Oiwa, who admitted he did not expect to find himself in this position this week.
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“I honestly didn’t think I’d get this far. To be able to play the final round from the top of the leaderboard was already something special. I knew I would feel the pressure, but I wanted to stick to my golf.
“I’ve often fallen away on the third or fourth day. Today I couldn’t create as many birdie chances early, so it felt like a day where I just had to hang on. But I’m glad I was able to stay patient and give myself a chance at the end,” said Oiwa.
