Akutsu braves winds to win The Mizuno Open, punches ticket to The Open

Mikiya Akutsu survived the blustery conditions as he held his ground to post a final round one-under-par 71 to win The Mizuno Open on Sunday.
 
On a day where gusts topped 40mph and only 16 players broke par at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club, it was the 30-year-old who emerged victorious by signing off with a winning total of 13-under-par 275 to clinch his maiden JGTO title.
 
With his breakthrough, Akutsu also earned his place as one of the leading three players not already exempt to The 153^rd Open which will be held at Royal Portrush next month.
 
“Honestly, I’m just so happy. There are so many emotions I’m going through now. Besides this win, I’ve also earned a ticket to The Open. It feels surreal and overwhelming.
 
“I’ve chased this dream since my junior days. I earned my tour card in 2021 and have worked toward winning ever since. This isn’t the goal. It’s just the start. Winning even once is hard, and I have more respect now for pros with multiple titles,” said Akutsu.
 
Meanwhile, Korea’s Song Yong-Han (71) and Riki Kawamoto (73) will join Akutsu at the world’s oldest Major after they closed with matching 279 total, four shots back of Akutsu in tied-second place. 
 
Leading final round scores
*All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
275 – Mikiya Akutsu 67-69-68-71
279 – Song Young-Han (KOR) 67-68-73-71, Riki Kawamoto 68-69-69-73
280 – Ren Yonezawa 70-66-73-71
281 – Taiga Nagano 67-72-72-70, Yuta Sugiura 74-68-68-71, Taiga Sugihara 69-68-73-71, Ryosuke Kinoshita 67-71-72-71, Kazuki Higa 68-71-70-72, Kaito Onishi 68-68-72-73, Taihei Sato 69-67-71-74, Scott Vincent (ZIM) 66-71-68-76