Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan: Singaporean Brayden Lee and Japan’s Anna Iwanaga outlasted their rivals to emerge triumphant at The Royal Junior.
Four shots off the pace in tied fourth overnight, Lee carded a closing even-par 72 at The Royal Club. With a 54-hole aggregate of one-over 217 he became the first non-Japanese to win the Boys’ title.
In the Girls’ category, Iwanaga maintained the home nation’s 100 per cent winning record in the tournament.
On a tough day for scoring, Iwanaga signed off with a four-over 76 to overturn a one-stroke overnight deficit and claim first place with a three-day total of three-over 219.
For Singapore national team member Lee, victory came less than a month after he underlined his potential at the DP World Tour’s Porsche Singapore Classic, where he returned scores of 69 and 74. Although he missed the cut by one shot, he won the award as Low Amateur - a timely boost to his confidence.
His success at The Royal Club also continued a good run of results for him in Japan, having finished joint eighth in The Royal Junior last year and equal 32nd at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Gotemba last October.
Over the monstrous 8,026-yard layout at The Royal Club, Lee, who began the week in 372nd place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was a model of consistency. After opening with a 73 he added a 72 on day two to keep himself in contention.
For much of the final round, Thailand’s Parin Sarasmut led the way, racing to three-under. Playing in the penultimate flight, Parin remained at the top of the leaderboard with three holes remaining.
But bogeys at 16 and 17 meant he ended with a one-under 71 to leave the door open for Lee. The Singaporean duly made his par on 18 to seal the biggest win of his career to date.
While Lee was holding firm, the leading three players at the start of the day all faltered.
Second-round leader Yuki Hisatsune of Japan carded an 82. That was 16 shots worse than his tournament-best 66 on day two and left him in joint seventh place on 223.
Korean Yu Min-hyeok, second overnight, could only manage a 77 to finish third on 219. Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh, 57th in the WAGR, also signed off with a 77 as he settled for a share of fourth spot on 221, alongside Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki and Thai Jittahorn Wiss.
There was a brave comeback from Indian Kartik Singh, a team-mate of Anh Minh in both the International Team at last year’s Junior Presidents Cup and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation’s (APGC) victorious Bonallack Trophy team in January.
Languishing in equal 26th place in the 49-strong field after an uncharacteristically error-strewn opening 80, Singh posted rounds of 71 and 72 to climb into a tie for seventh. He had the best final 36-hole score among the boys.
As in the Boys’ category, the leading female players struggled on the final day of the course that was set-up over 7,030 yards.
Overnight leader Mana Yoshizaki laboured to an 81 to drop to sixth place on 223, while Korean Park Seo-jin and Japan’s Kurara Arakaki carded matching 77s.
That left the way clear for Iwanaga, runner-up at last year’s R&A Junior Open in Scotland, whose good form has continued into this year with a 33rd place finish at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Vietnam last month after which she won the Japan High School Spring Championship.
A closing 76 here gave Iwanaga, 80th in the WAGR, a two-stroke winning margin from Park and China’s Li Menghan, whose 73 was the best final-round return.
Organised by Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings Inc and approved by the APGC and The R&A, The Royal Junior is also supported by the Japan Golf Association, Japan High School and Junior High School Golf Association.
The top players outside of Japan are selected by the APGC. All players must be under the age of 18 years old as of March 31, 2025.
Leading Final-Round Scores
Boys
217 – Brayden Lee (Singapore) 73-72-72
218 – Parin Sarasmut (Thailand) 76-71-71
219 – Yu Min-hyeok (Korea) 73-69-77
221 – Taisei Nagasaki (Japan) 75-71-75; Jittahorn Wiss (Thailand) 75-71-75; Nguyen Anh Minh (Vietnam) 75-69-77
223 – Kartik Singh (India) 80-71-72; Takeru Michiue (Japan) 72-76-75; Mao Matsuyama (Japan) 74-74-75; Yuki Hisatsune (Japan) 75-66-82
Selected Scores
226 – Anshul Mishra (India) 76-73-77
228 – Ajalawich Anantasethakul (Thailand) 80-72-76; Wang Haoyi (China) 75-74-79
232 – Hsu Po-cheng (Chinese Taipei) 80-75-77
234 – Kenneth Sutianto (Indonesia) 81-79-74; Shinichi Suzuki (Philippines) 80-77-77
235 –Kang Seung-gu (Korea) 77-75-83
237 – Do Duong Gia Minh (Vietnam) 76-82-79; Harjai Milkha Singh (India) 77-79-81
238 – Geoffrey Laklak (Lebanon) 81-76-81
239 – Rajat Rai (Fiji) 83-78-78
240 – Shahmeer Maajid (Pakistan) 76-82-82
241 – Angad Singh (India) 83-82-76
245 – Geoffrey Tan (Philippines) 82-80-83
250 – Asyrafa Danish Suryanto (Indonesia) 83-80-87
253 – Ammer Aiman Mohd Fauzi (Malaysia) 83-84-86; Eugene Tanyongjaya (Indonesia) 83-82-88
276 – Abdulla Kalbat (United Arab Emirates) 93-92-91
Girls
219 – Anna Iwanaga (Japan) 73-70-76
221 – Li Menghan (China) 75-73-73; Park Seo-jin (Korea) 70-74-77
222 – Liu Yujie (China) 75-72-75; Kurara Arakaki (Japan) 75-70-77
223 – Mana Yoshizaki (Japan) 70-72-81
225 – Uno Neda (Japan) 75-71-79
226 – Nam Sie-un (Korea) 73-75-78
227 – Mamika Shinchi (Japan) 74-74-79
228 – Araki Nanami (Japan) 77-75-76; Akamatsu Minami (Japan) 77-74-77; Reina Todaka (Japan) 75-75-78
Selected Scores
229 – Hsieh Ping-hua (Chinese Taipei) 78-75-76
233 – Jaroendee Peerapha (Thailand) 81-80-72; Chuc An Le (Vietnam) 81-74-78
236 – Zara Anand (India) 80-75-81
237 – Elena Zriek (Lebanon) 83-81-73
238 – Aamiya Koul (Singapore) 81-75-82
239 – Gemilau Kurnia (Indonesia) 81-80-78; Grace Quintanilla (Philippines) 79-76-84
242 – Yogya Bhalla (India) 83-82-77; Kayu Daluwatte (Sri Lanka) 80-85-77
244 – Aleathea Gaccion (Philippines) 83-81-80; Nguyen Vu Hoang Anh (Vietnam) 78-78-88; Leung Hei-tung (Hong Kong) 77-79-88
245 – Sara Amin Khan (Pakistan) 85-78-82
250 – Maureen Shavelle Yose (Indonesia) 82-90-78; Belle Ngo Yi (Malaysia) 87-83-80
