Defending champion Otsuki aims to turn the corner at Panasonic Open Golf Championship

Tomoharu Otsuki will be hoping to snap his winless run this season as he returns to defend his title at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship that starts on Thursday.
 
While the ¥100,000,000 event will be played at a different course where Otsuki lifted his third JGTO title last year, the 34-year-old hopes to rediscover his winning form at the Arima Royal Golf Club in Hyogo prefecture this week.
 
He has two top-10s in 16 starts with his tied-fifth finish at the Shinhan Donghae Open a fortnight ago as his best result so far. Otsuki was also in early contention at the ANA Open last week before settling for a tied-14^thfinish.
 
“I feel that things are improving after the Shinhan Donghae Open. But it’s hard to say. If you ask whether I had a good feeling, I would say the momentum sort of ended that week.
 
“I fared decently at the ANA Open too, but those good feelings only lasted for a day or two. After that, my scores were mostly just average. I’m hoping this week will serve as a good turning point for the latter half of the season,” said Otsuki.
 
Otsuki will have his defence title bid put to the test by a strong line-up of players in the 120-man field that includes multiple JGTO winners, Ryo Ishikawa, Kazuki Higa and South Africa’s Shaun Norris. 
 
He is set to tee off alongside Hideto Tanihara and Toshinori Muto in his opening two rounds.
 
Ends.