Tournament article
Fujisankei Classic 2019
Hiroshi Iwata makes his best finish as tied to 2nd with "loosen up" method
"That eagle made me feel that the game is not over yet. I might catch the leaders. So, I made up my mind to go aggressively."
"My putting was not at its best today."
As Hiroshi stated, he did suffer on the greens and on 9th, he missed the 1-meter par putt. That bogey stalled him for a while, but he told himself that "If I can't count on my putts, I will aim for the birdies with my shots."
Hiroshi has injured his neck during the practice at last month's SegaSammy Cup.
"I chose not to pump up on the impact. I want to hit it stronger as I used to, but I don't want to hurt my neck again."
This "loosen up" method worked. He bounced back with a birdie on 10th, and then from 14th, he made 4 straight birdies to chase the leaders in top gear. One of the 4 birdies was almost a hole-in-one on the Par 3 16th.
Hiroshi came to the 18th green with 2 shot deficit but couldn't make his 3-meter chance and ended at tied to 2nd, which is his best finish this season. Now his Money Ranking went up from 45th to 21st and getting close to Hiroshi's dream.
US PGA and Japan Tour co-sanctioned event "ZOZO Championship" is coming up on October 24th. Top 7 Money Ranking players by the end of Bridgestone Open will receive the ticket to participate.
"I really want the chance to be in ZOZO Championship. I want to challenge US PGA Tour again."
Next week, Japan Tour will be flying to Hokkaido. ANA Open will be held at prestigious Sapporo GC Wattsu Course.
"90% of the time I failed make the cutline there, but I would like to do my best and put a smile during my play."