Tournament article
Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open at The Royal Golf Club 2019
Yuta Ikeda runs away with his Final Round lead and grabs his 21st Victory on the Japan Tour
Eventually, Yuta kept the lead until the very end but with the bogey on 17th, Chan Kim was just 1 shot behind. On the final hole, Yuta felt the shivers. He was telling his caddy that he was getting nervous. He had to wait a little since Won Joon Lee was facing some trouble shot. Yuta's 2nd shot from 165 yards to the well slanted green perfectly landed 10-meter right of the pin. Then he made 2 putts to save his victory.
Yuta was making the charge on moving Saturday until the 16th, where he reached 9 under par in total. But with double bogey on 17 and bogey finish on 18 ruined his round. He was pretty upset about it and promised himself that he will make the revenge on the Final Round. He praised himself that he was able to overcome his mistakes from yesterday. Yuta commented his 21st victory as "I won in the great style".
Last year when The Royal Golf Club became the new venue, Yuta was away challenging abroad in US PGA Tour. So, this was his first challenge against the "monster 8000 yards course". He was really looking forward to the over 8000 yards settings. When he was finally fighting against it on Round 3, he was really excited that he will be able to show "Ikeda style" of golf.
"It never felt long for me. I wished that they would have kept it over 8000 on the final round as well. The score 66 on Round 3 with over 8000 yards was the new course record, and I am looking forward to revising it next year."
The flat stick putter that Yuta has been using in the last 3 weeks is Jumbo Ozaki's 90V anniversary model.
"I bought it as a collection 25 years ago. I was borrowing one from my University senior Ryuji Sadaoka, who told me that I play better with flat sticks. I couldn't borrow it too long, so I remodeled the Jumbo collection. Now this partner became my number 1 putter."
This Mizuno Open plays as the qualifier for this year's The Open. Top 4 finishes excluding the ones who are already eligible. With this win, Yuta gained the ticket to his 8th chance to the British Open, and it will be his 5th years in a row.