Higa seals Asian Tour Order of Merit title

Kazuki Higa added another feather to his cap by becoming the first player from Japan to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Higa, an eight-time JGTO winner, who also won the JGTO Money ranking title in 2022, secured the title after finishing in seventh place at the season-ending Saudi Open presented by PIF on the Asian Tour.

Higa’s performance meant he finished the year with 2,082.34 points on the Merit list, 199.84 ahead of Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent in second.

“I am so, so happy. This is a great honour,” said Higa, who has also won twice on the JGTO at the ISPS HANDA Explosion in the Summer event and Shinhan Donghae Open.

With his merit title triumph, the 30-year-old is exempted into The Open through the International Federation list. A place in the PGA Championship is also available via the list, depending on the player’s position on the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I have worked very hard for this. I felt that last year changed things, all the hard work started to pay off, and it’s amazing to see it all pay off this week,” he added.

Higa enjoyed three straight top 10s, posting a tied-eighth at the Asian Tour’s season-opening Smart Infinity Philippine Open, followed by a tied-fifth finish at the International Series India presented by DLF and a tied-second result at the 104th New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.

He then recorded back-to-back wins at the Shinhan Donghae Open, in Korea, and the Yeangder TPC, in Chinese-Taipei, tin September, before finishing tied-second at the International Series Philippines in late October.

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