Historic Japan PGA Championship back to thrill

Following a brief three-week hiatus, the JGTO stars are set to return to the greens for the prestigious Japan PGA Championship- a tournament that will mark an impressive 90th milestone when it kicks off on Thursday.

With its roots extending back to 1926, this ¥150,000,000 event is considered one of Japan's oldest professional tournaments.

An explosive affair is on the cards as an impressive lineup of 144 players compete for the coveted title at Eniwa Country Club in Hokkaido.

The Japan PGA Championship, unlike many regular JGTO tournaments, is played on different courses across the country each year. This year will mark only the second time that the Eniwa Country Club has had the honour of hosting the tournament, following the 2009 edition won by Yuta Ikeda.

JGTO legend Masahi 'Jumbo' Ozaki stands as the most successful player in the event, with six titles to his name (1971, 1974, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1996).

Despite the change in venue, last year's champion, Mikumu Horikawa, is set to defend his title and hopes to reverse his recent streak of underperformance.

At the Grand Fields Country Club in Shizuoka last year, Horikawa shot a superb seven-under-par 64 in the third round, and then closed with a modest 70, securing a three-shot victory over Naoyuki Kataoka.

After failing to make the cut in four of his last five starts, Horikawa aims to rekindle the inspiration from his last victory to get his season back on track.

However, he will need a special performance to stand a chance in a tournament that boasts one of the strongest fields this season, with 13 of the top 15 current money leaders also in contention this week.

This list includes the top five - Keita Nakajima, Takumi Kanaya, Hiroshi Iwata, Ryutaro Nagano, and Taiga Semikawa.

Also in the mix is reigning JGTO number one, Kazuki Higa, who now competes abroad regularly.

South Africa's Jbe Kruger, fresh off his first JGTO victory in four years at the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup three weeks ago, will be aiming to extend his winning streak. The 37-year-old Kruger is gunning for his career's first back-to-back victories.

Thanks to his recent win, he has climbed to number seven and aims to continue this upward trajectory to close the gap in the season-long JGTO Money Rankings.

Kruger, with a season tally of ¥36,892,522 from just seven starts, will need another significant performance to keep the pressure on Nakajima, the current leader with ¥62,828,769.

His best season so far was in 2019 when he finished 28th overall.

Among the other international players in the 144-man field this week are South Korea's Song Young-han and Yang Ji-ho, Filipino sensation Juvic Pagunsan, and Australia's Anthony Quayle - all of whom are in the top 20 of the money list.

Australia's Adam Bland will aim for his second title in this tournament after lifting the trophy for the first time in 2015.

Ends.