Asaji snaps winless streak at The Crowns

Yosuke Asaji ended a four-year title drought on the JGTO by claiming a one-shot victory at The Crowns on Sunday.
 
The contest at the Nagoya Golf Club could have headed for a sudden-death playoff had Hiroshi Iwata and Yusaku Miyazato birdied the final hole. But even a bogey on the last hole for Asaji still handed the 31-year-old the title as he signed off with a one-under-par 69 for a winning total of seven-under-par 273.
 
“Over the past four years, almost nothing went right for me, so when I thought back on that, the tears just came—even though I'm not the type to cry. It was just overwhelming,” said an emotional Asaji.
 
“This win felt completely different from the others. Even though I should know how to win by now, I felt nervous, almost like it was my first victory. Honestly, I was just really happy today.”
 
Iwata and Miyazato shared second place while Kohei Okada and Takanori Konishi returned with matching 71s to finish tied for fourth on 275 total. Philippines’ Juvic Pagunsan was the only international player inside the top 10 as he signed for a 71 to end the week in tied-sixth position at the JPY 110,000,000 event.
 
Leading final round scores
*All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
273 – Yosuke Asaji 70-72-62-69
274 – Hiroshi Iwata 73-69-66-66, Yusaku Miyazato 70-68-67-69
275 – Kohei Okada 69-69-66-71, Takanori Konishi 70-69-65-71
276 – Kazuki Higa 71-68-71-66, Kunihiro Kamii 69-69-69-69, Tatsunori Shogenji 73-67-67-69, Aguri Iwasaki 67-71-68-70, Taiga Nagano 68-70-68-70, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 68-70-67-71
 
Ends.