Leading trio aims to end season with a flourish at Golf Nippon Series JT Cup

The 2025 JGTO season will draw to a close this week with the Tour’s top 30 players battling for the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club.
 
All eyes will also be on who will finally lift the 2025 JGTO money ranking title with Kota Kaneko, Taiga Semikawa and Ryuichi Oiwa in the running to end their season on a high.
 
This week's no-cut event offers a lucrative prize money of JPY 130,000,000, with the winner's prize purse worth JPY 40,000,000.

As it stands, Kaneko, a two-time winner this season, holds the advantage with over JPY 110,000,000 in earnings.
 
Tatsunori Shogenji, who sits second on the money list, will not be in the field as he opted to compete at the PGA Tour Qualifying School this week. That leaves Semikawa and Oiwa, ranked third and fourth, with an outside chance to overtake Kaneko, provided either of them claims the JT Cup title.

Despite this, Kaneko retains the upper hand. If there are up to five players tied for second, or up to two players tied for third, and Semikawa or Oiwa wins, Kaneko will still secure the Money King title. 
 
Similarly, if up to seven players are tied for second, or up to two tied for third, and Oiwa wins, Kaneko remains in control of the ranking.
 
“I’m approaching this week the same way as I do any other tournament,” said Kaneko. 
 
“Of course, I want to become the Money ranking champion, but I want to earn it through my own results. I hope to get off to a good start in the first round, and if I’m in a strong position over the weekend, I’ll try to go for the win.”
 
Semikawa, who won the JT Cup in 2023, is upbeat about his form and securing a grandstand finish, having won once this year along with nine top-10 finishes. 
 
 “I feel like I’m coming into this week in good form. My condition actually feels great. I’ve been very conscious of performing well over the past two events, and my desire to win is especially strong. I’d love to win this tournament again,” said Semikawa.
 
Fresh off his maiden JGTO victory last week, Oiwa is also hopeful of being the last man standing on Sunday at a venue which he describes as very ‘challenging’.
 
“I was really happy to receive congratulations from so many people. Hearing other pros say ‘I’m glad you won’ made me genuinely pleased. Until now, I honestly never thought I could win. Even though there’s a chance now, I still have to focus on playing well. 
 
“Winning isn’t easy, or I would have done it long ago. My form is good, and the Yomiuri course is very challenging, so it’s just about making a plan and executing it,” said Oiwa.
 
Kaneko, Semikawa and Oiwa will be playing together in the last group that tees off at 1100 (local time) for the opening round.
 
Ends.