Pagunsan fends off Japanese challenge to end two-year title drought in Japan

Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines successfully held off Taihei Sato's charge to secure a two-shot victory at the Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament on Sunday, marking his second title in his JGTO career.

The 45-year-old, who had led the tournament since the second round, remained composed and delivered an impressive four-under-par 66. Finishing the week with a winning total of 23-under-par 257, Pagunsan claimed the ¥12,000,000 winner's cheque.

The highly anticipated final round was initially expected to be a head-to-head battle between Pagunsan and Taiga Semikawa, who began the day only one stroke behind.

However, as Semikawa struggled in the middle of the duel, it was Sato who emerged as the potential obstacle to Pagunsan's quest of becoming the season's first international winner in a full-field event.

The 29-year-old Sato, still in pursuit of his breakthrough on JGTO, quietly climbed up the leaderboard and at one point found himself trailing Pagunsan by only one stroke with four holes remaining.

Nevertheless, Sato's remarkable bogey-free 62 was only sufficient to secure a shared second place with Semikawa, who staged a late comeback with a closing 67, finishing at 21-under overall.

Despite the mounting pressure from Sato, Pagunsan displayed unwavering composure and extended his lead by securing birdies on the 16th and 17th holes.

He even had the luxury of bogeying the 18th, his third of the day, to seal the memorable victory in the presence of his family.

"I am extremely happy right now. Winning for the second time in Japan has always been a dream of mine, and I am thrilled to have accomplished it," said Pagunsan, who previously secured his JGTO breakthrough by winning the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open title in 2021.

"This victory is even more special because my family is here to witness my performance. They returned to Japan last week after the travel restrictions were lifted."

"I would also like to give credit to my new set of clubs. They performed flawlessly throughout the entire week, enabling me to hit the ball and putt solidly."

Motivated by today's success, Pagunsan has already set his sights on reclaiming the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open crown next week and earning a ticket to The Open Championship.

Although he qualified for the 149th edition of The Open, he chose to prioritise his focus on the Tokyo Olympics then.

"I vividly remember my first victory, and I aim to approach next week's tournament with that same mindset," he stated.

Dylan Perry was the highest-placed international finisher, securing a tied seventh position with a final round score of 65, totaling 263. Meanwhile, Brad Kennedy and Filipino golfer Justin De Los Santos finished two strokes further back, having delivered impressive performances of 64 and 63, respectively.

Leading final round scores:

257: Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 64-63-64-66;

259: Taihei Sato 68-64-65-62, Taiga Semikawa 63-65-64-67;

261: Yosuke Tsukada 64-69-65-63, Yusaku Hosono 63-68-63-67;

262: Yuki Inamori 64-65-65-68;

263: Taiko Nishimaya 62-69-69-63, Kunihiro Kamii 66-65-68-64, Tomofumi Ouchi 70-62-66-65, Dylan Perry (Aus) 66-69-63-65.