Yuto Katsuragawa continued Japan’s recent purple patch on the DP World Tour following a three-shot victory at the ISPS Handa Championship at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course.
Katsuragawa followed on from Keita Nakajima’s win at the most recent European Tour event – the Hero Indian Open – while Rikuya Hoshino lifted the Qatar Masters trophy back in February.
Prior to those, Ryo Hisatsune won last season’s Open de France to become the third Japanese man ever to lift a DP World Tour trophy. Isao Aoki was the first in 1983 at the European Open, and Hideki Matsuyama broke a 33-year streak at the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions.
Katsuragawa sealed his placed in history as just the sixth Japanese winner ever on the European Tour after a course-record-equalling 63 on Sunday. And that stunning fourth-round effort helped him pick up a first DP World Tour victory on just his fifth start.
As a result, he is now set to take up full DP World Tour membership and – like many of his peers – has long-term aspirations of making it onto the PGA Tour one day.
He said: “I have been practising a lot to stand on the big stage. I can now go on the DP World Tour which is really great and I’m really happy with it. I’m aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future.
“I was very nervous on the back nine, my hands were shaking but I trusted myself and I managed to bring my golf.
“This course is beside Mount Fuji and very beautiful but it is a challenging course and I’m happy to win at a challenging course like this.”
Katsuragawa actually began the day three shots off the lead but poured almost all of his putts in to rise to the summit at the base of Mount Fuji while the leading group gradually fell away.
Only Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg could stay in touch as the holes began to run out, but in the end his Japanese rival proved to be too strong.
The final standings from the @isps_champ_jp 📊#ISPSHandaChampionshipApril 28, 2024
While a runner-up finish would have been mildly disappointing to Soderberg, the 33-year-old’s excellent play of late has moved him to the top of the Asian Swing Rankings.
If he manages to remain there after next week’s Volvo China Open, he will not only earn a $200,000 bonus and guarantee his place at the Scottish Open later in the season, but finishing in the top-three places would…
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