Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan: Kaito Sato withstood a strong challenge from Taisei Nagasaki to emerge triumphant in the 109th Japan Amateur Championship.
The win was hard-earned for 19-year-old Sato who saw a six-stroke overnight advantage disappear before producing a late rally to claim the title in sweltering conditions.
A two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) contestant, Sato closed with a two-under-par 68 on the West Course at Yokohama Country Club.
That gave him a 72-hole total of 15-under 265 following earlier rounds of 67, 68 and a sparkling third-round 62 that saw him surge clear of the field.
But the Tohoku Fukushi University student survived a monumental scare with in-form Nagasaki mounting a spectacular final-day charge.
Individual winner at last month’s Toyota Junior World Cup, Nagasaki, who will turn 16 in October, began the fourth round in joint second place, six strokes behind Sato.
Racing out of the blocks, Nagasaki, playing in the penultimate flight, made seven birdies in a faultless front nine seven-under 28 to draw level.
However, Nagasaki, fourth in April’s Royal Junior tournament, was unable to maintain that blistering pace dropping shots at the 13th and 15th, handing the initiative back to Sato.
With a birdie at 17, Sato, 212th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), gave himself some breathing space and a par at 18 completed the job.
For his part, Yushi International High School student Nagasaki’s closing 64 ensured him second place on 13-under 267, three strokes clear of third-placed Takumi Kobayashi.
In his two AAC appearances, Sato tied for 41st at Royal Melbourne in Australia in 2023 and placed equal 43rd at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course in his native Japan in 2024.
