Semikawa starts well at Japan PGA Championship

Japan’s rising star Taiga Semikawa fired a blemish-free six-under-par 65 to be amongst the early pacesetters as the  ¥150,000,000 Japan PGA Championship got underway at the Fuji Country Kani Club on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Semikawa, a former world amateur No. 1 and a four-time JGTO winner, reeled in six birdies on holes six, nine, 10, 12, 14 and 15 to feature atop the leaderboard that also includes Yuta Sugiura, Takumi Kanaya and Taisei Shimizu.

Semikawa, who finished runner-up to Kensei Hirata in last year’s tournament, is determined to start well and put himself in a good position 

“It has been a while since I enjoyed a bogey-free round and that’s really pleasing. The fairways are really tight on this golf course and you have to be really accurate with your iron shots.

"I’m looking forward to another win again and I’m glad today’s result has put me in a good position to do that,” said Semikawa, who made history in 2022 by becoming the first amateur to win the Japan Open since the tournament’s inception in 1927.

South Korea’s Song Yong-han was the sole international player to feature inside the top-10 after he posted a 66 to trail the leaders by a single shot in a share of fifth place that also features Yuta Ikeda, Ryutaro Nagano and Sejung Hiramoto.

Defending champion Hirata, struggled with a 72 to sit in tied-73^rd place, seven shots off the pace.

Ends.

Leading first round scores
65 Yuta Sugiura, Takumi Kanaya, Taisei Shimizu, Taig Semikawa
66 Yuta Ikeda, Ryutaro Nagano, Sejung Hiramoto, Song Young-han
67 Naoyuki Kataoka, Tomohiro Ishizaka, Kosuke Suzuki, Kenya Nakayama, Shunsake Ohtani, Kosei Takeyama