Lee braces for JGTO card survival at Casio World Open

American golfer Han Lee is gearing up for a challenging mission as he prepares to tee off at the Casio World Open in Kochi this Thursday.

This marks the second consecutive year that the 46-year-old finds himself in a tight race to secure his JGTO card, with every yen earned playing a pivotal role in determining whether he retains full privileges for the upcoming season.

In the previous season, Lee faced a nail-biting finish but managed to secure his position just on the top 65 borderline, the threshold for players to keep their Tour cards.

However, as the current season nears its end, he no longer comfortably resides within the top-65 bracket.

Currently holding the 66th position, Lee has accumulated a season tally of ¥11,834,435 from 21 appearances, trailing closely behind 65th-placed Tatsunori Shogenji (¥11,859,466).

The 2012 Mynavi ABC Championship winner started the season strongly with a solo third finish at the Token Homemate Cup but struggled to capitalise on that momentum.

He made only 10 cuts, with a tied-10th finish at the Japan Players Championship standing out as his other notable result.

Several international competitors, including South Korea's Lee Sang-hee (78th), Park Sang-hyun (87th), Australia's Dylan Perry (85th), American Shintaro Ban (86th), and Australia's Brendan Jones (89th), a four-time runner-up of this tournament, are also making desperate attempts to break into the top 65.

This may mark their final appearance of the season, as next week's season-ending Golf Nippon JGT Cup will feature a limited 30-man field.

On the local front, the race for this season's JGTO No. 1 ranking could find its resolution in this week's penultimate tournament.

Keita Nakajima, currently leading with ¥162,886,179 and enjoying a substantial margin of over ¥40,000,000 over second-placed Takumi Kanaya (¥122,548,999), will be declared the Prize Money King if he maintains this gap, securing an insurmountable lead.

It's worth noting that American Chan Kim, last year's champion with a remarkable 32-under-par total, will not be defending his title this year.

Kim, an eight-time JGTO winner, has secured his PGA Tour card for 2024 through a second-place finish on the US second-tier Korn Ferry Tour this season.