JGTO Abroad: Hisatsune fires closing 65 to finish T11 at The American Express

Ryo Hisatsune produced a splendid seven-under-par 65 in the final round of The American Express but still missed out on his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour on Sunday.

Hisatsune, a three-time ABEMA Tour winner, was in his element, making eight birdies through 16 holes at the PGA West Stadium Course in California. However, a costly bogey on the 17th hole meant he settled for a tied-11th position with a four-day total of 23-under 265.

Hisatsune can take encouragement from this performance as it marks an improvement from the tied-30th outing he secured at the preceding week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Playing in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, thanks to an outstanding season on last year's DP World Tour, Hisatsune needs to capitalise on the starts he gained into PGA Tour events to enhance his status in the first reshuffle, scheduled for the second week of April.

The American Express crown was sensationally captured by American college student Nick Dunlap, who maintained his overnight lead by carding a 70 for a 29-under 259, finishing one shot ahead of South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

With this achievement, Dunlap became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.

Meanwhile, Masahiro Kawamura also made Japan proud by finishing in a share of seventh place at the DP World Tour's Hero Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai, UAE.

Kawamura closed with a three-under-par 69, concluding with a nine-under 279 total, five shots behind Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

This was Kawamura's 19th top-10 finish in his career.