Norris in early contention at The Crowns

South Africa's Shaun Norris made an impressive start in his quest to end a three-year title drought on the JGTO, finishing in second place after the opening round of The Crowns.

The 41-year-old fired a five-under-par 65 at Nagoya Golf Club's Wago Course, trailing leader Hideto Tanihara by just one shot in the ¥110,000,000 event, the third leg of the JGTO season.

Norris, seeking further success since his last victory at the Japan Open in October 2021, began the day on the back foot after dropping a bogey on the first hole.

However, he staged a remarkable comeback, birdieing the second, fourth, and ninth holes to make the turn at 33.

Norris maintained the momentum, scoring three consecutive birdies from the 11th before securing his seventh of the day on the 17th.

Unfortunately, Norris' momentum halted when he conceded a shot on the last hole, preventing him from tying with Tanihara for the lead. 

"Overall, it was a solid round, but unfortunately, I made a few costly mistakes, particularly the bogeys on the first and last holes," Norris reflected.

"It's (Wago Course) truly a magnificent course, but it demands a lot of strategic thinking. It's quite challenging.

"On the bright side, my putting is really coming together, so I'm feeling enthusiastic and eager to give it my all this week."

Tanihara found himself ruing a missed opportunity to carry a two-shot lead into the second round.

Despite an impressive seven-under performance through 17 holes, the 19-time JGTO winner couldn't maintain a flawless card, as a late bogey on the final hole tarnished an otherwise stellar round.

South Korea's Song Young-han, who had an outstanding season in 2023, is also in the mix after posting a 66, placing him in a tie for third with Ryo Ishikawa and Yuta Kinoshita.

New Zealand's Michael Hendry added to the international presence in the top 10 with his score of 68, securing a share of ninth place.

Leading first round scores:

64: Hideto Tanihara;

65: Shaun Norris (Rsa);

66: Ryo Ishikawa, Song Young-han (Kor), Yuta Kinoshita;

67: Riki Kawamoto, Kazuya Koura, Tomoharu Otsuki;

68: Tomohiro Ishizaka, Shugo Imahira, Takashi Ogiso, Ren Yonezawa, Taisei Sato, Shunya Takeyasu, Michael Hendry (Nzl).