Higa wins again at Shinhan Donghae Open

 
Kazuki Higa captured the Shinhan Donghae Open title for the second time on Sunday, sealing victory with a four-under-par 68 for an 18-under-par 270 total at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon. 
 
The 30-year-old edged Canadian Richard T. Lee and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent by a single shot to clinch his eighth career JGTO title.
 
The 2022 JGTO Money Ranking champion once again showed his trademark ability to win from the front. 
 
Starting the final round with a one-shot advantage, he immediately set the pace with four straight birdies to open his round and was three clear at the turn over his playing partners Lee and Vincent.
 
But the back nine brought its share of drama. A clutch par save on 10 kept him in front as Lee closed the gap, and a bogey on 13 reduced his lead to just one shot, with Vincent also in contention heading into the closing holes.
 
The par-five 18th produced late drama as Lee found water and Vincent a bunker, but after a long rules delay, Lee scrambled an unlikely par, leaving Higa to seal victory with a precise chip to two feet for his winning par. 
 
“I’m very relieved to win,” said Higa. “It got a little tough on the back nine with a few missed shots and a lot of pressure, but my game held up. This is the first time I’ve won an event twice, and that makes it even more special.”
 
“The past two years, I’ve trained a lot and changed clubs to hit it longer – just over 10 yards more now. It’s been plenty of testing and trial and error, no big swing changes, but I’ve focused on speed and a strong mentality to realise my potential,” said Higa.

Leading fourth round scores
270 - Kazuki Higa (JPN) 70-67-65-68.
271 - Richard T. Lee (CAN) 68-71-65-67, Scott Vincent (ZIM) 71-67-65-68.
272 - Danthai Boonma (THA) 67-71-66-68, Taichi Kho (HKG) 69-69-66-68.
273 - Seonghyeon Kim (KOR) 70-70-69-64.
274 - Ryo Katsumata (JPN) 72-67-68-67.
275 - Hideto Tanihara (JPN) 70-68-69-68, Travis Smyth (AUS) 71-68-67-69, Taiki Yoshida (JPN) 68-68-68-71.