Izumida’s putting switch pays off as he shares lead with Kosaihira

Daijiro Izumida and Yuma Kosaihira signed for opening rounds of five-under-par 66 to place themselves among the early contenders at the Vantelin Tokai Classic on Thursday.
 
They took a one-shot lead over 11 players – including Philippines’ Justin De Los Santos and Todd Baek of the United States –  who returned identical 67s at the Miyoshi Country Club.
 
Izumida mixed his card with six birdies and a lone bogey for a promising start which he credited to a switch in putting grip, suggested by his childhood friend and current caddie.
 
“I felt really good overall today. My shots were sharp and the putter was working well,” said Izumida. “I had been struggling with putting for a while and even tried cross-handed, but it never quite clicked. This week, my caddie reminded me of an old grip I used to hole a lot of putts with. I gave it a try, and the feel was immediately great. The ball started rolling so much better, and my impact felt more stable. Even my long putts were getting close.”
 
Izumida added: “It’s very new to me, so I’ll keep practising to make it my own. If the feel changes tomorrow, I might even go back to cross-handed. But the key is staying focused on course management, especially around holes like 16 where you can get into big trouble if you lose concentration.”
 
Kosaikei, meanwhile, kept pace with Izumida with a round that featured four birdies, one eagle and a lone bogey. The 27-year-old, who was forced to withdraw last week due to a shoulder injury, admitted he was not at his best but managed to score well thanks to his putting.
 
“I felt I could have done better,” said Kosaikei. “But on the tough holes, my putter really saved me. I was able to hole putts when I needed to, which turned it into a good score.”
 
On his recovery, he added: “The shoulder pain was getting worse last week, so I didn’t want to push it. Now it feels much better, and I can hit the ball again.”
 
Kosaikei also highlighted a mental shift in his putting. “I talked with Coach Hashimoto yesterday. I’d been overthinking my stroke, but he told me just to pick a spot and hit it simply. That made a big difference.”
 
Leading first round scores
*All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
 
66 – Daijiro Izumida, Yuwa Kosaihira
67 – Terumichi Kakazu, Taihei Sato, Kohei Okada, Todd Baek (Usa), Suguru Shimike, Rikuya Hoshino, Tsubasa Ukita, Justin De Los Santos (Phi), Takashi Ogiso, Genki Okada, Hirotaro Naito