Faldo

December 7, 2009:  Japan’s rising star, 14-year-old Masamichi Ito shot two rounds of 69 to win the Faldo Series Japan Championship at Shishido Hills Country Club and book his trip to China for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in March.

Earlier this season, Ito became the youngest ever player to make a cut on the Japan Golf Tour and also finished second in the Japan Amateur Championship.  He showed the same impressive form to finish on six-under-par after 36 holes in the Faldo Series Asia event and claim the second Japan Championship by three shots.

Ito’s nearest challenger was Ryunosuke Matsushita who carded a brilliant final-round 65 on the West Course at Shishido Hills, recently voted Japan’s best golf course in the Asian Golf Monthly Awards.  The 15-year-old finished on 141 to take the silver medal behind Ito in the boys’ under-16 category.

Kanagawa-born Ito can now look forward to spending time with six-time Major winner Nick Faldo during the Grand Final at Shenzhen’s Mission Hills on March 10-12, 2010.  He will be joined by Japan’s four other age-group gold medallists:  Naoto Nakanishi (boys’ under-21), Ryo Sukegawa (boys’ under-18), Yoko Ogawa (girls’ under-21) and Namika Kougo (girls’ under-16).

Supported by UBS, Mission Hills and The R&A, over 120 of Japan’s leading young golfers, boys and girls aged 12 to 21, were tested under strict tournament conditions at Shishido Hills, venue for the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship.

Organised by Mori Building and Golf Digest Japan, and with local support from Shishido Kokusai Golf Club, the players also received expert advice from golfing-legend Tommy Nakajima, a winner of 48 events on the Japan Golf Tour and a former world number five.

Endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, younger children from the local community in Kasama attended the tournament to receive free coaching and watch the competitors in action, part of Faldo’s drive to simultaneously create access to the sport at a grass-roots level. 

The Japan Championship was the twelfth of 15 Faldo Series Asia tournaments in 12 different countries during 2009/2010, including four in mainland China plus one in each of Bahrain, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam.

With over 1,000 competitors taking part in the Faldo Series Asia this year, and many more being introduced to the game, the climax of the season will be the fourth Grand Final in March.  Over 60 Asian finalists from across the region will compete for five invites to the European Faldo Series Grand Final plus the opportunity to play in a flagship Asian Tour or Ladies European Tour event for the overall boy and girl champion.

Leading final scores:  Boys’ under-21: 145 – Naoto Nakanishi (75, 70); 147 – Masashi Shirouzu (74, 73); 148 – Shigeta Hattori (78, 70).  Boys’ under-18: 146 – Ryo Sukegawa (76, 70); 151 – Konosuke Nakazato (79, 72); 154 – Yuta Watanabe (75, 79).  Boys’ under-16: 138 – Masamichi Ito (69, 69); 141 – Ryunosuke Matsushita (76, 65); 143 – Yuto Soeda (73, 70).  Girls’ under-21: 147 – Yoko Ogawa (72, 75); 158 – Airi Kameda (87, 71); 159 – Sarasa Sugiyama (83, 76).  Girls’ under-16: 147 – Namika Kougo (73, 74); 152 – Mayu Hosaka (75, 77); 154 – Rika Inoue (81, 73).