Playback of Tetsuji Hiratsuka’s win in the 2011 Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open
Tetsuji Hiratsuka is no doubt one of the best players on the Asian Tour. He has recorded a total of four Asian Tour victories during his career.
However, it was the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open last year that means the most to him, as it came in Japan, his home country.
Hiratsuka fired a four-under par 67 in the final round of the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open last year and cheered the home fans with a two-stroke victory over S.K. Ho of South Korea.
Hiratsuka was an underdog heading into the first round of the tournament. On the other hand, the fans were looking forward to seeing their favourite player, Ryo Ishikawa taking home another local title home.
However, Ishikawa only managed to record a tied 34th position on the leaderboard. For many fans, it did not matter, as another local player brought smiles on their faces with a victory.
According to Hiratsuka, he always wished to raise a trophy in front of home fans. Therefore, his wish came true at the Biwako Country Club.
“This has been a dream come true. I always like to win at home and I’m glad it finally happened his week,” said Hiratsuka. “Nothing beats the home crowd cheering you on and it really motivated me to give my best”.
Ho, in the meantime, seemed really disappointed with his performance in the final moments of the tournament.
He was tied for the top spot, heading to the final two holes of the day. However, he lost his momentum and conceded bogeys on each of the remaining two holes.
Otherwise, he could have easily forced the game to enter the sudden-death playoffs.
“I was playing quite steadily and it just all went wrong on the closing stretch. I drove the ball badly and they were very costly,” said Ho, whose full name is Hur Suk-Ho.
Jbe Kruger of South Africa was another player who missed an opportunity of his maiden victory on the Asian Tour. After leading the first round, Kruger started missing the fairways and lost control over his clubs.
While talking to the Asian Tour website, he stated that he could have easily secured a top-10 position after recording a good finish in the final round.
However, the case was completely different here. He settled for a top-10 finish after performing poorly in the final round while missing the chance of a victory.
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