Hwang falls short as Inamori takes The Crown

South Korea’s Junggon Hwang was denied his fifth JGTO title by the brilliance of Japan’s Yuki Inamori after the Japanese powered his way to victory with a final round of seven-under-par 63 to take home The Crowns on Sunday.

Starting his final round just one shot back of the lead, Hwang carded two birdies in his first five holes to reach the turn in 33. He parred the next two holes after the turn before his lone bogey of the day on 12 pegged him back.

Inamori, meanwhile, got off the blocks quickly with two opening birdies. He dropped a shot on three but recovered quickly with another pair of birdies on eight and nine for an outward 32.

The 27-year-old then extended his advantage after marking his card with further birdies on 10 and 12. He stayed patient by making three straight pars before storming towards the finishing line with two successive birdies on 16 and 17.

Hwang tried to muster a fightback by matching Inamori’s efforts on 16 and 17, but it was too late to overturn the three-shot deficit with one final hole remaining. 

Inamori sealed his victory with a closing par to sign off with a winning total of 16-under-par 264. With his latest triumph, Inamori returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in two years since his last victory at the Japan Open Golf Championship in 2020.

“I played patient golf today, and honestly, it was good enough for me to win this tournament. The course conditions were challenging due to the heavy rain during the week. But I hung in there, and I’m really happy I managed to win this week,” said 27-year-old Inamori, who has been riding on his rich vein of form following his tied-sixth finish at the ISPS HANDA Championship last week.

For Hwang, who was making only his second JGTO start since 2019, his wait for another grandstand finish has to be prolonged, coming so close again at a tournament in which he also finished second in the 2018 edition. 

Crowd favourite Ryo Ishikawa, who famously overturned a six-shot deficit with a record-breaking 58 to snatch the title in 2010, signed off with a 68 to finish in a share of seventh place. 

Ends.