Tokyo: Shugo Imahira fended off the spirited challenge by Ryosuke Kinoshita to win the Japan Open Golf Championship by one shot at the Tokyo Golf Club on Sunday.

Imahira entered the final round one shot behind Kinoshita, who had held the overnight lead. He stumbled early with a bogey on the third hole but recovered swiftly with a pair of birdies on holes four and five.

The 32-year-old then birdied eight to reach the turn in 33. He dropped another shot on 11 before picking up another gain on 14. After another bogey on 16, Imahira headed into the final two holes tied with Kinoshita at three-under.

He made par on 17 and was already prepared to head into a playoff until he managed to birdie 18 to sign off with a two-under-par 68 and a winning total of four-under-par 276.

“I was tied with Kinoshita at that point, so I was just aiming to make par and head into a playoff. I didn’t expect it to go in, so I wasn’t completely blank, but it was a strange, overwhelming feeling,” said Imahira.

“I’m really happy. The Japan Open is a tournament I’ve always wanted to win, and while I didn’t have great results this year, I’m thrilled to have won.

With his 10th JGTO victory secured, Imahira earned his spot into the ZOZO Championship in a fortnight and also kept his proud record of winning in every JGTO season since 2021.

“I was really hoping to qualify for ZOZO, so now that I have, I want to carry this momentum into that tournament since I’m already familiar with the course.

I didn’t want to break that streak of winning. I wasn’t playing as well as I wanted in the first half of the season, but I made some adjustments, and they’ve been working,” added Imahira.

Leading final round scores
All Japanese nationals unless indicated otherwise

276 – Shugo Imahira 66-72-70-68
277 - Ryosuke Kinoshita 70-67-70-70
280 - Yuki Inamori 67-70-71-72
282 – Takumi Kanaya 72-72-70-68
283 – Mikiya Akutsu 71-72-70-70