As many as five players held the lead during the final round of the Top Cup Tokai Classic, but it would be a flourish of birdies at the end of the round that would propel a veteran into a playoff and eventually give him the victory over a legend.

Hyung-Sung Kim entered the final round two shots back, but looking up at a stacked leaderboard that included winners from 2015 and veterans that have won a bunch on the Japan Tour. Among those were Shingo Katayama, who was looking for his 29th Japan Tour victory.

Katayama got out to a lead early by birdieing four out of five holes between holes 8 and 12. Katayama was in a fight with several other players, but as they were unable to close the door on the tournament, Katayama looked on the verge of a victory. 

Playing in the group in front of Katayama, Hyung-Sung Kim was four strokes back entering the 14th hole. He got within two after birdies on 14 and 15, but a par on the 16th hole seemed to put Katayama out of reach for Kim. Katayama, however, was unable to make a single birdie down the stretch, and Kim made two clutch birdie putts on 17 and 18 to force a playoff with the Japan Tour legend. 

After pars on the first playoff hole, Kim was able to make birdie on the second. Katayama was unable to match, and Kim ended up with the victory.

The win marks the fourth straight year Kim has won a tournament on the Japan Tour. This is his fourth victory, and gets him back into the winner circle after a rough 2015 season. After starting the season well, Kim has missed the cut in three of his last four tournaments, and hadn't finished better than T20 in his last six. Kim had fallen to 191st in the Official World Golf Rankings after being ranked as high at 62nd in 2013. He played in three out of four majors last year, and he made the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this year. The victory will hopefully give Kim some much needed momentum as the Japan Tour enters the final stretch of the season.

While Katayama will initially be disappointed that he did not win the tournament, his second place finish shows an upswing for the 42 year old. After struggling for part of the season, Katayama has now made the cut in four straight tournaments, each better than the last. This is his second straight top 10 finish, and he is entering the strongest part of the Japan Tour season.

Finishing two shots back were two players who had every opportunity to win the golf tournament. After birdies on four out of six holes to start the back nine, Sang-Hyun Park, looking for his first Japan Tour victory, entered the 17th hole tied with Katayama and Kim for the lead. A bogey on the 17th hole meant Park had to get aggressive on the 18th, which lead to another bogey. 

Similar story for Yuta Ikeda. Ikeda, looking for his second victory of the season, entered the final round with the lead. He was in control of the tournament after holing out for eagle on the second hole, and had a four shot lead following birdies on 3 and 5. A bogey on the par 5 7th hole brought others closer, and he was unable to record a single birdie from that moment on. Seeing Kim and Katayama pass him as he entered the final hole, he, too, needed to play aggressively, and it lead to a bogey. Still, this is Ikeda's fourth top 10 finish in five events, and he is entering part of the schedule where he typically plays well. 

Ryuichi Oda finished one shot further back in solo 5th. Oda has won twice on the Japan Tour, including once last year, but 2015 has been a season to forget for Oda. He has missed the cut in six events, and his 5th place finish is his best so far this season.

Three players finished at tied for sixth, but two of them will be beating themselves up for their performance. Ryo Ishikawa, who was looking for his second win in three weeks, had a one shot lead after birdies on his first two holes. A bogey on the third brought him back to the pack, and a wild back nine which included three birdies and three bogeys did not allow Ishikawa to make up any ground on the leaders, who were surging. Ishikawa could have finished tied for third, but bogeys on the last two holes sent him tumbling down the leaderboard. Ishikawa will now return to the United States, and is set to play in the Frys.com Open in two weeks.

Overnight leader Seuk-Hyun Baek, looking for his first professional victory, bogeyed two of his first four holes, but was able to get back into contention with two straight birdies on 6 and 7. He was only a couple back entering 14th hole, but a double bogey ended his championship hopes. This T6 performance is Baek's first top 10 of the season.

The third player at T6 can not complain about his final round. Masahiro Kawamura fired a bogey free 66 to shoot up the leaderboard. Kawamura, who is only 22, is still seeking his second victory, but many believe Kawamura is a superstar in the making. He was outdueled by Kyung-Tae Kim a few weeks ago, and this is his fourth top 10 finish of the season. Kawamura, however, is still fighting to become more consistent, as he's also missed a few cuts this season. 

Japan Tour Money List leader Kyung-Tae Kim finished T10, his tenth worldwide top 10 of the season. He takes his commanding Money List lead into next week, while his nearest competitor, Hiroshi Iwata, returns to the Japan Tour. Iwata secured his PGA Tour card for next year after playing in the Web.com Tour finals.

VAVEL Logo
About the author