Riki Kawamoto set the early pace at the inaugural Richard Mille Charity Tournament after firing four consecutive birdies in his last four closing holes for a first round nine-under-par 63 on Thursday.
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The 25-year-old is bidding to end his three-year title drought on the JGTO and enjoyed a promising start with a blemish-free round highlighted by nine birdies to lead by two over seven players.
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Yuta Kawakami, Daisuke Kataoka, Masahiro Kawamura, Mikiya Akutsu, Taiko Nishiyama, Tomoyo Ikemura and Kohei Okada are tied for second after they returned with matching 65s.
Kawamoto came close with a tied-second finish at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open and stays in the hunt of returning to the winner’s circle at Noto Country Club this week.
“I’ve been able to play in good form consistently, so I feel like I’m playing my style of golf steadily, and I’m satisfied with my score.
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“The greens are extremely soft this week, so if you’re left with about 100 yards in, it’s really hard to control the distance precisely.
“Especially when you’re trying to spin the ball from the fairway, it can spin back about 15 meters. So it’s actually easier to control the distance if you’re closer to the green. That was part of the strategy today, and I’m happy it worked out well,” said Kawamoto.
