Sugiwara, on the Verge of Turning Pro, Outruns Matsuyama and Koepka to Lead in Rounds 2-3
(Miyazaki, Japan= Yonhap News) Song-Ah Choi = A storm is brewing at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, a ‘premier event’ of the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) where world-renowned players like Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka (both from the U.S.) have competed, with the only amateur participant causing a stir.
On the third day of the 50th Dunlop Phoenix Tournament held at Phoenix Country Club (par 71, 7,42 yards) in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 18th, Yuta Sugiwara, born in 2001 in Japan, took the solo lead with a mid-total of 12-under-par 201.
Sugiwara, who started the tournament one stroke behind the first-day leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, reduced three strokes in the second round to take the solo lead and maintained his position atop the leaderboard. He leads by four strokes over second-place Brad Kennedy (Australia, 8-under-par 205).
Sugiwara is aiming to become the seventh amateur player to win since the tour system was implemented in Japan in 1973.
The Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, which has been held since 1974, is one of the major tournaments on the Japan Tour, with several world-class players participating each year.
Famed players such as Seve Ballesteros (Spain, 1977·1981), Woods (2004·2005), Tom Watson (U.S., 1980·1997), and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan, 2014), the face of Japanese golf, have all lifted the trophy, but no amateur player has yet won.
This year’s tournament features players like Matsuyama, who has eight wins on both the PGA Tour including the 2021 Masters, and the JGTO, as well as Koepka and Wyndham Clark (both from the U.S.), who won this year’s PGA Tour major, but Sugiwara is ahead of them all.
Sugiwara, who won the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Challenge on Japan’s second-tier tour in September to earn a spot in this tournament, demonstrated steady play by reducing two strokes on a day when strong winds made it difficult for players to decrease their scores due to the chilly weather.
Sugiwara, currently studying at Nihon University, has been a standout player, finishing tied for third in last year’s Japan Open.
He also represented Japan in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last month, finishing fourth in the team event and tied for 25th in the individual event.
Sugiwara, who had delayed turning pro to participate in last month’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which grants the winner a Masters invitation, failed to realize his dream then by missing the cut but is making a splash in a major tournament on his home tour.
Sugiwara is preparing for the third stage of the JGTO Qualifying Tournament at the end of this month. If he wins this tournament and declares his turn pro, he will immediately earn a seed for the next JGTO season.
Sugiwara said, “Although I have a big lead, I want to focus on each stroke and play a game without regrets. I want to enjoy playing in such a place. I want to enjoy the remaining 18 holes and win.”
Sugiwara, who will play in the final round with 49-year-old veteran Kennedy and Keita Nakajima of Japan, the current JGTO money leader, added, “Nakajima is a pro I admire and think is amazing. I’m looking forward to playing in the same group tomorrow.”
songa@yna.co.kr
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