Yokohama Minato Championship-Fujiki Centennial Rewind: Nakajima revels in rain to win championship

The second edition of the Yokohama Minato Championship- Fujiki Centennial gets underway at the Yokohama Country Club on Thursday. 150 players are expected to battle for top honours at the ¥120,000,000 event and they include the likes of South Korea’s Song Young-han, Aguri Iwasaki, Ryosuke Kinoshita and Yuto Katsuragawa who will be back in action for the first time since competing at The Open Championship a fortnight ago.

While Keita Nakajima has opted not to defend his title due to his playing schedule, there are still several notable JGTO household names and multiple winners such as Ryo Ishikawa, Hiroshi Iwata, Shugo Imahira and Yuki Inamori to ensure a formidable presence for the home crowd.

As we prepare for action at the Yokohama Minato Championship- Fujiki Centennial this week, we take a walk down memory lane and revisit highlights of its inaugural final round last year.

Reflections of 2023 final round
Nakajima secured his second JGTO title in six starts when he overcame a two-shot deficit in the rain-affected final round to become the first-ever winner of the Yokohama Minato Championship - Fujiki Centennial.

The then 23-year-old dazzled with a five-under-par 66, which included six birdies and a single bogey, to finish his campaign on 13-under-par 271 at the Yokohama Country Club in Kanagawa.

Nakajima beat his nearest competitor, Taiga Semikawa, who also carded a 66, by one stroke.
Starting the final day two shots behind Yuki Inamori in second place, Nakajima made his move early by birdieing the first hole to tie for the lead with the latter, who bogeyed.

Nakajima then set up a birdie opportunity on the second just before the rain halted the play for three hours and 22 minutes.

Upon returning to the course, Nakajima duly converted the putt to gain his second shot of the day. Despite dropping a bogey on the par-four fifth for his only blemish of the day, he recovered superbly to birdie the sixth, eighth, ninth and 13th to move three shots clear at one stage.

Semikawa tried to stage a late charge when he birdied three of his last five holes but still ended up one shot shy.
"This course is tricky, and the lead doesn't mean much. I can't control the scores around me. I focused on playing well," said Nakajima.

“Winning against a truly competitive player like Semikawa gives me confidence."

While Sunday proved to be a day of delight for Nakajima, Inamori, the leader for the first three rounds, was left disappointed and frustrated.

He struggled to shoot a 72 when it mattered most to settle for a share of fifth place on nine-under-par 275.

Inamori admitted that the weather delay did affect him in some ways.
 
"Everything went wrong for me today. (The rain) It did (affect me), to some extent. I had to regain my composure, which was quite challenging," he lamented.

"Not only the wind, but the rain made the course wet. As a result, tee shots didn't land as far, which became advantageous for the big hitters. I was desperately trying to keep up."

END.