A wild storm that lashed the Japanese island of Okinawa couldn’t stop Matthew Griffin from posting his fourth consecutive top-20 finish on the Japan Golf Tour.
The third round of the Heiwa PGM Championship had to be cancelled on Saturday due to typhoon-like conditions that made the picturesque PGM Golf Resort layout unplayable, South African Shaun Norris shooting 69 on Sunday to record his third win in Japan.
Three birdies on his outward nine and a fourth at the par-5 18th hole saw Griffin match Norris’s round of three-under 69 in his third and final round to finish the week tied for 13th to move up to 25th on the moneylist.
Good day for golf in Okinawa today 🌧💨 pic.twitter.com/Yu1FCI065v
— Matt Griffin (@MattGriffinGolf) November 3, 2018
It continues a happy association for Griffin at the PGM Golf Resort where he was tied for fifth 12 months ago in his first look at the course.
One stroke behind Griffin in a tie for 16th was Won Joon Lee, while Brad Kennedy is now 13th on the moneylist after finishing tied for 26th. It could have been a much higher finish for Kennedy, but the Queenslander made four consecutive bogeys from the 14th to the 17th holes on Sunday before getting one back with a birdie at his final hole.
Kiwi Michael Hendry sits just outside the top 60 on the moneylist after a third round of 69 lifted him up into a tie for 32nd, while Aussie David Bransdon is in 58th position with four events left to play after he ended the week tied for 40th. Scott Strange was the only other Aussie to make the cut, finishing in 62nd position.
The depth of Australasian talent on the Japan Golf Tour could be much stronger in 2019 after eight progressed to the Final Stage of Qualifying School.
Andrew Evans, Neven Basic, Michael Sim, Scott Arnold and Harry Bateman all claimed one of the 28 spots on offer at Third Stage Qualifying at the Taiheiyo Club while amateur Dylan Perry and fellow New South Welshman Callan O’Reilly booked a berth at Final Stage via qualifying at Horai Country Club.
While Perry was well positioned throughout a week where scoring was difficult, O’Reilly had to fight back from an opening round of 79, closing rounds of 68-71 good enough to finish tied for 10th and comfortably secure passage to the next stage.
An opening round of 64 gave Evans the impetus to finish second at qualifying at the Taiheiyo Club while Sim did it the hard way, firing the equal-best final round – a six-under 65 – to earn a shot at a Japan Golf Tour card for 2019.
Fighting to get back onto an international tour, there is unfinished business for Sim in Japan as he missed out on a tour card at Final Stage 12 months ago by a single shot.
Japan Golf Tour Final Qualifying will be conducted over six rounds at Central Golf Club in Ibaraki from November 29.
