Tomorrow, on December 5th 2021, a new Order of Merit Champion will receive the honorable crown. Shugo Imahira who held this prestigious title for 2 consecutive seasons will he handing over his throne.

Shigo lost his chance to 3-peat the Order of Merit title last week as he finished at 2T on Casio World Open. After letting his same age rival Mikumu Horikawa win the tournament, he has lost the chance for the 3-peat.

"I was aiming for the 3-peat, so simply it was very disappointing."

Shugo won at Fuji Sankei Classic in September to count his 5th Tour victory, but he failed to make the cutline 2 week from there at Panasonic Open. The continued streak of making the cutline since 2019's Token Homemate Cup stopped at 41 tournaments.

"I really had tough time controlling my shots."

Shugo seemed to have lost the perfect stability he held for past 2 years.

"I don't have that pressure this week, but I do remember how I felt. I only had to battle against Shaun Norris for both of the years, but this season it is 5-way battle. It could be anyone, so 5 of them must watch out for 4 other players and that is a tough fight."

No one could imagine the huge pressure of the Order of Merit Champion, until you become one. Shugo was able to make that happen in 2 consecutive seasons, which was 5th player to do so, following Isao Aoki, Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Shungo Katayama. Which shows how strong hearted Shugo is.

"Of course, I was a bit nerve wrecked."

Which didn't show much on the outside with his famous poker face.

This week, he is still struggling. He was at 9T after 2R, but he stumbled on the 2R and now he stands at 26T.

"I haven't playing well for the past 3 rounds, so I hope I could play satisfying round tomorrow and end the season with good feeling."