Tokyo, Japan: Yuto Katsuragawa upstaged a host of fellow former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) contestants to claim his first DP World Tour title.
The 25-year-old Japanese rallied from a three-shot overnight deficit, firing a closing seven-under-par 63 at Taiheiyo Club’s Gotemba Course to secure a three-shot victory in the ISPS Handa Championship.
“I have been practising a lot to stand on the big stage,” said Katsuragawa, whose four-day aggregate of 17-under 263 overshadowed the efforts of past AAC winners Keita Nakajima and Takumi Kanaya.
The Japanese duo ended in a share of 11th place on 270, one stroke behind compatriot Yuta Sugiura, a two-time AAC participant who secured the winning point for the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation team at last year’s Ryder Cup-style Bonallack Trophy against the European Golf Association in Spain.
Katsuragawa, who tied for eighth on his sole AAC appearance at China’s Sheshan International in 2019, said: “I can now go on the DP World Tour, which I’m really happy with. I’m aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future.”
With his victory in the event co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO), Katsuragawa became the second consecutive Japanese player and third overall to triumph on the European circuit this season, following Rikuya Hoshino (Qatar Masters) and Nakajima (Indian Open).
It was Katsuragawa’s second JGTO triumph, coming two years after his initial win, which was at the same tournament when it was only part of the Japanese circuit.
“This course is beside Mount Fuji and very beautiful and challenging. I was very nervous on the back nine, my hands were shaking. But I trusted myself and I managed to play my best golf,” said Katsuragawa, who completed a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, and is now ready to embark on another adventure abroad.
Following the successes of Hoshino and Nakajima, Katsuragawa, in just his fifth DP World Tour start, has continued the positive momentum initiated by Ryo Hisatsune with his victory at the French Open last September.
Four Japanese players have now won on the DP World Tour in a matter of eight months. Prior to that, only two Japanese players – Isao Aoki (1983 Panasonic Open) and Hideki Matsuyama (2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) – had managed to do so.
The home fans at Gotemba had plenty of cause for celebration with seven Japanese finishing in the top-15, compared to just four in last year’s inaugural edition.
