Ikemura takes early lead at Japan Open Golf Championship

Tomoyo Ikemura will take a three-shot lead into the second round of the Japan Open Golf Championship after carding a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 at the Tokyo Golf Club on Thursday.
 
Multiple JGTO winner, Shugo Imahira ended the opening day of Japan’s national open – which is celebrating its 100^th anniversary – in solo second place after mixing six birdies and two bogeys for a 66.
 
Yuki Inamor and Kazuki Higa posted matching 67s to share third place while defending champion Aguri Iwasaki returned with a 69 for a share of seventh place as Australia’s Adam Scott struggled to a 75 to end his first round in tied-67^thplace.
 
Ikemura, a two-time JGTO winner, is seeking to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2022. The 29-year-old issued his statement of intent with an assured performance, marking his card with four straight birdies in his outward nine before firing another three birdies in his last five holes to take command.
 
“My tee shots were really good today. I missed the fairway only two or three times today, so as long as I could keep the ball in the fairway, I had a good chance of hitting the green. 
 
The greens weren't that firm, so I figured as long as my tee shots were good, I wouldn't be in much trouble. That was something I had in mind during the practice round, and I think it worked out really well today,” said Ikemura.
 
While he is enjoying the early lead, the 29-year-old knows his job is far from done.
 
“I don’t think I’ll be able to play this kind of golf for four days straight, but if I can stay in the top 10 even if I drop a bit tomorrow, I think I’ll be able to fight for the top spots in the final rounds. If I can extend my lead, that would be perfect, but I know there will be tough moments tomorrow. I just hope I can stay in the top 10 when those moments come.”
 
Imahira is meanwhile looking to notch his 10^th JGTO win this week, after posting five top 10s in 12 starts this season.  Winning his national open remains the goal for him and he knows that staying patient will be key for him to achieve that.
 
“I’m pleased with my under-par round, and I think I played well. It’s one of the tournaments I love to win. But if I think about it too much, things may not go well, so I’ll just aim to meet my daily score targets of staying under par one day at a time,” said Imahira.
 
Leading first round scores
All Japanese nationals unless indicated otherwise
 
63 – Tomoyo Ikemura
66 – Shugo Imahira
67 – Yuki Inamori, Kazuki Higa
68 – Taiko Nishiyama, Choi Ho-sung (Kor)
69 – Yosuke Tsukada, Aguri Iwasaki, Keita Nakajima