Higa closes with a 68 for tied fourth as three Japanese in top 20

JGTO number one Kazuki Higa led the way as three Japanese concluded their campaigns in the creditable top 20 at the Hero India Open in New Delhi on Sunday.

Higa fired a closing four-under-par 68 at the DLF Golf and Country Club for a total score of eight-under-par 280 to tie for fourth place with Spain's Jorge Campillo.

Higa carded an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys to finish six shots behind winner Marcel Siem of Germany, who signed for a 68 to pip compatriot Paul Yannik to the title by just one stroke.

The result marked Higa's second top-10 finish on the DP Tour after he was tied for 10th at the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany last year.

Ryo Hisatsune, the DP World Tour Q-School graduate, also made it to top-10 after shooting his best round of the week of 68.

He traded five birdies against a lone bogey to join Spain's Pual Larrazabal in a share of the 10th spot on four-under-par 283.

Masahiro Kawamura was left kicking himself after a double bogey on the par-four 14th forced him to finish with 70 for joint 18th.

Prior to the setback, he was enjoying a good run of five birdies over the eight-hole stretch starting from the six.

Kawamura began the day sandwiching a birdie on the fourth hole between two bogeys on one and fifth.

Still, Kawamura would be relieved to finally end a run three consecutive missed cuts since the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Aguri Iwasaki carded a disappointing 80 to end the week in tied 80th on 299.

JGTO international members Shaun Norris of South Africa and Australia's Anthony Quayle, who also made it to the weekend, struggled with closing 74 and 80 to come in tied 48th and solo 67th respectively.

The JGTO and DP World Tour will also join forces to hold the ISPS Handa Championship in April, making it the first-ever event to be co-sanctioned by the two prestigious circuits in Japan.

The US$2,000,000 tournament is slated for April 20-23 at the PGM Ishioka Golf Club in Ibaraki.

The event was supposed to take centerstage last year, but the plan had to be pushed back to 2023 due to the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic