International players eye season finale spot at Mynavi ABC Championship

With their JGTO cards for the upcoming season nearly guaranteed, several international competitors, led by South African Shaun Norris, are now focused on securing a spot in the season-ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup.

Fresh from a two-week break, these players are eager to resume their pursuit when they compete in the ¥120,000,000 Mynavi ABC Championship, starting on Thursday at the ABC Golf Club in Kato, Hyogo.

The ¥130,000,000 JT Cup is scheduled to take place at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club from November 30 to December 3 and will exclusively feature the top 30 players on the JGTO Money Rankings after the Casio World Open.

Aside from Norris, who currently holds the 31st position, other players still in contention include South Korea's Yang Ji-ho in 36th place, Australia's Brad Kennedy in 39th place, and the Filipino duo of Juvic Pagunsan in 41st place and Justin De Los Santos in 45th place.

The current top five international players within the top 30 are South Korea's Song Young-han (third), South African Jbe Kruger (15th), and Australia's Anthony Quayle (22nd).

With four tournaments left to play before the JT Cup, these players understand they must continue to produce good results to secure a spot in the top 30.

Among all of them, Norris, a six-time JGTO winner, appears the most capable of doing so, having seemingly overcome his early season struggles by achieving top-10 finishes in his last two starts.

He secured a third-place finish at the ACN Championship and was tied for eighth at the Japan Open, a tournament he won in 2021, marking his most recent victory on the JGTO.

Norris is well aware that the challenge at the ABC Golf Club won't be easy, as he managed only tied-25th finishes during his previous appearances in 2019 and 2021.

Meanwhile, Kennedy will be hoping to build on his morale-boosting tied-third finish at the Japan Open as he continues his relentless pursuit to end a five-year title drought.

The 49-year-old finished tied for 11th last year.

Headlining the local field this week will be none other than Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima, who will continue their seemingly two-horse race towards the JGTO Prize Money King crown.

With ¥107,732,999 amassed thus far, Kanaya holds a narrow lead over Nakajima, who sits in second place with ¥106,526,179.

In third place is Song with a distant ¥76,572,002, followed by Taiga Semikawa in fourth place with ¥74,019,749.

The spotlight will also be on Mikumu Horikawa as he returns to defend his title.

The 30-year-old is in good form, having finished joint third at the Japan Open, a tournament in which he was tied for the lead in the opening round.