Kuzuha International

The Kuzuha International was a professional golf tournament in Japan between 1965 and 1990. It was played at the Kuzuha Public Golf Course in Kuzuha, Hirakata, Osaka. From 1978 to 1983, it was a Japan Golf Tour event.^[1]

Kuzuha International

Tournament information
Location	Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
Established	1965
Course(s)	Kuzuha Public Golf Course
Par	70
Tour(s)	Japan Golf Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	¥15,000,000
Final year	1990
Tournament record score
Aggregate	129 Tsutomu Irie (1985)
To par	−11 as above
Final champion
Yoshimi Niizeki
Location map
Kuzuha Public Golf Course Location in Japan Show map of Japan Kuzuha Public Golf Course Location in the Osaka Prefecture Show map of Osaka Prefecture

In 1985, Tsutomu Irie became the first player to break the 60 barrier in major professional tournament in Japan when he scored 59 (11 under par) in the first round.^[2]

History

The first two editions were a five-man invitation event played over 18 holes, after which it was a larger single-day 36-hole tournament. The first international players competed in 1971. It was reduced to a 27-hole event in 1972 and 1973, before becoming a two-day 36 hole tournament from 1974.

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Ref
1990	Yoshimi Niizeki	132	−8	1 stroke	Tadao Nakamura
1989	Tōru Nakamura	133	−7	1 stroke	Satoshi Higashi
1988	Wayne Smith	131	−9	2 strokes	Yasuhiro Funatogawa Craig Parry	[3]
1987	Katsunari Takahashi	131	−9	1 stroke	Brian Jones	[4]
1986	Yoshitaka Yamamoto	137	−3	Playoff[lower-alpha 1]	Seiichi Kanai	[5]
1985	Tsutomu Irie	129	−11	3 strokes	David Ishii
1984	Norio Suzuki	133	−7	1 stroke	Wayne Grady Yasuhiro Miyamoto	[6]
1983	Kikuo Arai	138	−2	Playoff[lower-alpha 2]	David Ishii Teruo Sugihara	[7]
1982	Namio Takasu	102[lower-alpha 3]	−3	1 stroke	Yoshikazu Yokoshima
1981	Kosaku Shimada	133	−7	2 strokes	Lu Liang-Huan Nobumitsu Yuhara	[8]
1980	Yoshikazu Yokoshima	134	−6	2 strokes	Tsutomu Irie Shinsaku Maeda Kenichi Yamada	[9]
1979	Hsieh Min-Nan	134	−6	2 strokes	Fujio Kobayashi
1978	Akira Yabe	135	−5	1 stroke	Brian Jones Yoshikazu Yokoshima	[10]
1977	Greg Norman	135	−5	2 strokes	Kikuo Arai	[11]
1976	Fujio Kobayashi	133	−7	1 stroke	Chen Chien-chung Hsieh Min-Nan	[12]
1975	Norio Suzuki	133	−7	1 stroke	Ted Ball	[13]
1974	Namio Takasu	131	−9	3 strokes	Masashi Ozaki	[14]
1973	Han Chang-sang	102[lower-alpha 3]		Playoff[lower-alpha 4]	Graham Marsh	[15]
1972	Lu Liang-Huan	107[lower-alpha 3]		Playoff	Walter Godfrey
1971	Guy Wolstenholme	139	−3	1 stroke	Akio Kanemoto
1970	Hideyo Sugimoto	145	−1	2 strokes	Kosaku Shimada
1969	Tadashi Kitta	136	−4	4 strokes	Torakichi Nakamura
1968	Shozo Miyamoto	134	−6	2 strokes	Susumu Arai
1967	Teruo Sugihara	136	−8	Playoff	Hideyo Sugimoto
1966	Tadashi Kitta	65	−7	2 strokes	Shozo Miyamoto
1965	Teruo Sugihara and Toichiro Toda	65	−7	Tie	n/a

Source:^[16]

Notes

1. Yamamoto won with a par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
2. Arai won with a par on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff; Sugimoto was eliminated when he made a bogey on the second extra hole.
3. Shortened to 27 holes due to weather.
4. Han won with a par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

References

1. "Tour 1978"."Tour 1979"."Tour 1980"."Tour 1981"."Tour 1982"."Tour 1983". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
2. "Irie fires lowest score in Japan's pro history". Singapore Monitor. Reuter. 7 April 1985 – via National Library Board (Singapore).
3. McCormack, Mark (1989). World of Professional Golf 1989. Collins Willow. pp. 276, 502. ISBN 000218284X.
4. McCormack, Mark (1988). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1988. Collins Willow. pp. 252, 464–465. ISBN 0002182831.
5. McCormack, Mark (1987). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1987. Collins Willow. p. 264. ISBN 0002182572.
6. McCormack, Mark (1985). Ebel World of Professional Golf 1985. Springwood Books. pp. 223, 445–446. ISBN 0862541247.
7. "Kukuo Arai wins Japan playoff". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. AP. 4 Apr 1983. p. 32. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. McCormack, Mark (1982). Dunhill World of Professional Golf 1982. Springwood Books. pp. 235, 452. ISBN 0862541018.
9. McCormack, Mark (1981). Dunhill World of Professional Golf 1981. Springwood Books. pp. 172, 375–376. ISBN 0862540054.
10. McCormack, Mark (1979). Dunhill Golf Yearbook 1979. Doubleday Publishing. pp. 244, 384. ISBN 0385149409.
11. "Norman wins in Japan". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 18 April 1977. p. 37. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Google News Archive.
12. "Japan golfer cops tourney". The Honolulu Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. UPI. 19 Apr 1976. p. D-5. Retrieved 25 January 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. McCormack, Mark (1976). The World of Professional Golf 1976. Collins. pp. 290, 477. ISBN 000211996X.
14. "Kuzuha title to Takasu". The Straits Times. Singapore. 7 May 1974. p. 22. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via National Library Board (Singapore).
15. "Hahn Victor in Kuzuha Golf". The New York Times. AP. 7 May 1973. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
16. "History" (in Japanese). Kuzuha Public Golf Course. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

External links

• Kuzuha Public Golf Course – Tournament history (in Japanese)