Shintaro Kobayashi is wishing to make a comeback on the course filled with great memory of accomplishing his first Tour Seed 5 years ago. 13th year professional Shintaro is putting all of the lesson he gained from the experience back in 2016.

"In 2016, I was able to make by best finish as a runner-up."

Shintaro started out as the leader on the final round and played along with Shingo Katayama. They battled out hard, but with a bogey on 17th, Shintaro lost by 1 shot. At the scoring tent, Shingo told Shintaro, "player who knows how to win here will never hit 1W on the 17th".

Shintaro was told by Shingo that it was reckless management to use 1W on the critical hole and end up in right-side trees.

"This week I am using 3W on 17th and made birdies on both rounds. So, I have learned my lesson well. This week I am reviewing the play of that round in 2016 on DVD and getting ready for the actual round."

This preparation and review are helping out big and, he is at 3T, just 1 shot behind the leaders going onto the weekends. His wife is from nearby city in same Hyogo Prefecture, and he has lived there for 8 years since 2013, so this Hyogo is his second home. He has spent many hours here on ABC Golf Course for practice rounds and says, "I really love this course".

Also, Shintaro has been supported a sponsor, "Yakitori Masaya", a company which has their headquarters in Nishinomiya City of Hyogo Prefecture for past 10 years. In 2016, Shintaro was able to earn his first Tour Seed by finishing 2nd at this tournament but lost his Seed next season. Founder of "Yakitori Masaya", has offered back the sponsorship right away.

"I cannot thank the President Ieda enough for his warm support. I won't be here without his help. I really want to return my deepest appreciation by making a good result this week."

Now, Shintaro ranks at 59th on Money List and seems to have the Tour Seed secured for the next season. One big task left is to show his appreciations by winning this week.