Japan's Yuto Katsuragawa went on a back-nine birdie spree Sunday to win the ISPS Handa Championship, a men's golf tournament co-sanctioned by the JGTO Tour and Europe's DP World Tour.
Katsuragawa shot a bogey-free, 7-under 63 to finish with a 17-under 263 total, three strokes clear of Swedish runner-up Sebastian Soderberg, on Taiheiyo Club's Gotemba Course in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.
The 25-year-old, who spent his high school years in the Philippines to improve his golf, had two birdies on the front nine and five more on the back, including three in a row from the 14th hole.
"I managed pars on Nos. 7 and 9 after hitting into a bunker. That helped me carry the momentum into the back nine," said Katsuragawa, who earned the winner's prize of $382,500 and a two-year exemption on the European tour.
"I was very nervous on the back nine, and my hands were shaking a little bit. I just continued to play with strong determination."
Katsuragawa said his ultimate goal is to play on the U.S. PGA Tour by finishing in the top 10 in the European Tour rankings.
His only previous victory was at the inaugural ISPS Handa Championship in April 2022, when European players were unable to travel to Japan over concerns about coronavirus infections.
Soderberg carded a final-round 67. South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout (65), Germany's Marcel Schneider (68), Spain's Ivan Cantero (68) and Japan's Ryosuke Kinoshita (69) were in a four-way tie for third place at 12 under.
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