Abu Dhabi: A 26-year wait is finally over for Japan after they won the Asia-Pacific Golf Team Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
In a nailbiting countback finish, which came down to Japan’s fourth man Toshiki Ishitoku’s closing round of 75, the Japanese team edged out their competitors from Chinese Taipei to claim the 27th Nomura Cup.
Held at Yas Links Abu Dhabi from Thursday to Sunday, 27 teams from countries spanning the Asia-Pacific region descended on Abu Dhabi for the first time in the competition’s history.
The 72-hole strokeplay event in Abu Dhabi was organised by the Emirates Golf Federation and Yas Links Abu Dhabi on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. The event was eventually decided on countback, after both Japan and Chinese Taipei finished the week on a total of 842, 22-under par, collected from the best three of four scores each day.
The Japanese team of Daisuke Matsubara, Naoyuki Kataoka, Takumi Kanaya and Toshiki Ishitoku received the trophy from Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development during the Nomura Cup prizegiving.
Helped by an opening-round 10-under par 62 by Daisuke Matsubara, Team Japan have been on a sharp learning curve since welcoming their new coach, Gareth Jones, a little over three weeks ago.
The team’s captain, Katsuii Hotta, was quick to praise Japan’s new coach:
“It has been a long 26 years for Japan, this means a lot to us, this is huge,” he said. “We started a new elite programme just three weeks ago, so this is a great and unimaginable start.
“This is all about Gareth Jones; the Gareth Jones effect. He really has led us to victory this week, as his preparation with technique and tactics have been fantastic. “I let him control the team and I cannot thank him enough for what he has done.”
After a dominant recent spell from Australia, who have won a record 10 Nomura Cups, the victory by Japan demonstrates their commitment to amateur golf.
Hotta added: “With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mind, we are aiming for a gold medal. Last year, we hosted the World Amateur Championships and we didn’t do very well.
“But this is an important step for Japan. We are trying to build a better programme for our best amateurs golfers. This new programme is designed to produce more successful golfers for our future.”
The team from Chinese Taipei consisting of Han-Ting Chiu, Chun-An Yu, Yung-Hua Liu and Sun-Yi Lu, had lead from day one, but faltered in the final few holes of the award-winning, Kyle Phillips-designed course. Korea were third on 16-under, meanwhile.
China’s Cheng Jin won the individual event with a dominant 13-under-par total. He will play in the 2016 US Masters following his victory earlier this month at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.