Yuto Katsuragawa of Japan holds his trophy after winning the ISPS Handa Golf Championship in Gotemba, Japan, April 28, 2024. /CFP
Japan's Yuto Katsuragawa shot a final-round 63 to win the ISPS Handa Golf Championship on Sunday.
ISPS is short for International Sports Promotion Society, which is a Japan-based organization known for its sponsorship of worldwide golf tournaments.
The HSPS Handa Golf Championship that took place from April 24 to 28 is a part of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tour, which has returned to Japan this year and is currently titled for Dubai Port (DP) World Tour for sponsorship reasons.
Katsuragawa won the inaugural ISPS Handa Championship title in 2022, but pandemic restrictions meant the competition was sanctioned only by the Japanese tour.
Yuto Katsuragawa of Japan plays a shot during the ISPS Handa Golf Championship at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course in Gotemba, Japan, April 28, 2024. /CFP
This year, at the Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, overlooked by Mount Fuji in central Japan, Katsuragawa had seven birdies and no bogeys to finish on 17-under par after equaling the course record, three strokes ahead of Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg.
Spain's Ivan Cantero, Germany's Marcel Schneider, South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Japan's Ryosuke Kinoshita all finished two shots further back in a tie for third.
Overnight leader Casey Jarvis suffered a final-day meltdown with five bogeys on the front nine, eventually shooting a 74 to finish eight strokes off the pace.
(With input from AFP)