Els makes long-awaited return to Japan

South African legend Ernie Els will be aiming to roll the years as he seeks a third career win in Japan through the inaugural ISPS HANDA Championship, which gets underway Thursday at the PGM Ishioka Golf Club in Ibaraki prefecture.

At 53, the four-time Major winner Els showed he has plenty of gas left in the tank with a couple of impressive results of late, most notably winning the Hoag Classic on the PGA Tour Champions last month for the 76th win of his professional career.

If a senior tour title was not convincing enough, Els backed it by upstaging some of his younger rivals to finish a creditable tied-56th place at the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour last week.

Els will certainly look to keep the momentum going when he makes a welcome return to the Land of Rising Sun – after a lapse of 15 years – to compete in the ISPS HANDA Championship that will go into history as the first-ever tournament to be jointly sanctioned by JGTO and DP World Tour.

Despite making only a handful of appearances, Japan has proven to be a favourite hunting ground for Els.

After all, it was back in 1993 that Els had won the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament at the Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki for his maiden win outside of the Sunshine Tour, and it turned out to be a huge stepping stone. He went on to win the US Open the following year.

Els would go on to win for a second time in Japan in 2001, lifting the World Cup with Retief Goosen following a thrilling four-way playoff duel at the Taiheiyo Club with Denmark, United States and New Zealand, which comprised big names like Tiger Woods and Thomas Bjorn, who is also in the field this week.

Els said he can never forget the day he won in Miyazaki, which he likened to playing in a massive event of Masters Tournament stature.

“1993 was a big year for me. I had good finishes in the US Open (T7) and The Open (T7). Coming here (in Miyazaki) it almost felt like we were in Augusta” recalled Els, who’s ISPS HANDA ambassador.

“There were a lot of people, (Masashi) ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki was a huge star at that time, Isao (Aoki)-san and Tom Watson were playing as well.

“It was a big event and I found myself with a couple of shots lead. I remembered there was a big rainstorm on Sunday, I was thinking maybe there was a chance it won’t be played but it didn’t.

“So, the play went on and I know Jumbo was going to come hard but I ground it out to win in the end.

“It’s a very special feeling as my wife was there to witness too. We’ve just started dating. That win gave me the confidence to keep going.”

Fellow ISPS HANDA ambassador Bjorn, too had fond memories in Japan having been crowned winner twice at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament and he will be hoping to add more accolades to his already-impressive trophy cabinet.

Bjorn, a 15-time DP World Tour winner, said he was delighted to be back.

“I have a great love for Japanese golf. Playing golf in Japan always feels different and the golf courses here are just sensational from the design perspective and condition wide,” he said.

“As a professional player, it’s such a pleasure to come here to play. Sometimes it makes you wonder how we can maintain the same conditions back in Europe.

“I’m delighted to be back here…it’s been too long”

Being the first DP World Tour event to be co-sanctioned with the JGTO in Japan, the home players understand the opportunity is there for the taking as this week’s winner is set to earn a two-year exemption to compete on the European flagship circuit.

One of those looking to seize the opportunity of playing in a DP World Tour event with a home-ground advantage is Rikuya Hoshino.

Hoshino is currently holding a conditional status on the DP World Tour by virtue of being the top three finishers of last season’s JGTO Money Rankings, but he wants to improve on it.

“This is important for me to play in this event and I’m so happy that I can play the course that I know well so I would like to play well and try to win,” said Hoshino,” who’s now ranked 144th on the Race to Dubai.

“All the points won this week will be counted on the DP World Tour, so it’s extremely important for me  with the re-ranking at least.”

Yuto Katsuragawa, the winner of last year’s sole-sanctioned ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan, is eager to make the most of his chances to prove his worth this week and his sponsor proud.

Katsuragawa is making his first JGTO start after spending the past few months playing mostly on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“This is my first time playing in Japan this season, and this event is sponsored by ISPS, which is my sponsor. I have been working a lot for this tournament, so I am looking forward to putting up a good show this week,” he vowed.

“I have been playing in South America but have not played as well as I had hoped. This is a very significant tournament and I hope to make amends.

“Dr. Handa has told me he wants to see me win again, I will try not to let him down.”