Takahiro Hataji has created golfing history by becoming the first player from Japan to win the New Zealand Open in its 103-year history.
On an absorbing final day at the Millbrook Resort in Queenstown, Hataji held off a persistent stream of potential challengers with a bogey-free 67 to win by a single stroke with a four-round total of 17-under.
Co-leader overnight, Australian Scott Hend arrived at the par-three 72nd hole with a share of the lead. After hitting his tee shot to the back edge of the 18th green, Hend’s putt for the championship ran five feet past, his come-backer for par lipping out hard off the left edge to fall one shot short in outright second.
Boasting five top-five finishes on the Japan Golf Tour in 2023, 30-year-old Hataji is not only the first player from Japan to win the New Zealand Open but the first from Asia, surpassing the runner-up finishes of countrymen Tomoyo Ikemura (2023) and Hideto Tanihara (2016).
Hataji also becomes the first Japanese winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since Isao Aoki won the 1989 Coca-Cola Classic at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
“It was a really tough day, but I have the trophy so I am feeling very happy now,” said Hataji after taking ownership of the Brodie Breeze Trophy. “I’m happy but he (Hend) played very well so when his putt missed I felt a bit sorry for him,” he added of Hend’s final-hole misfortune.