Teruo Sugihara’s record 51 appearances at The Crowns Tournament come to an end
The celebrated Japanese golfer Teruo Sugihara announced on Tuesday that he will not be playing in the upcoming The Crowns Tournament, bringing his record 51 consecutive appearance on the tour to an end.
The 73-year-old golfer cited his prolonged ailment as the reason of the pullout. Sugihara has been fighting fast spreading Lymph node cancer for a long time and has decided to focus on the disease.
“I apologize to the organizers and the fans for not being able to play because of my physical condition.” Said Sugihara, “I didn't want to play to take just one swing so that I could preserve my record. I want to come back fit and raring to go.”
Sugihara has the record of 51 back to back appearances on the tour, more than any golfer has ever been able to manage. He also broke Arnold Palmer’s record of 50 consecutive appearances at the Masters last year.
Born in 1937, Sugihara has won no less than 58 professional tournaments with 28 of them coming on the Japan Golf Tour, and earned a colossal ¥630-million. He also won the 1969 Hong Kong Open.
70’s and 80’s have been prolific decades for the golfer as he went over to win most of the victories during that era. Sugihara also plays on the Japan PGA Seniors Championship and had already won the titles in 1989, 1992, and 1995.
Sugihara’s last appearance on the Japan Tour was in Tsuruya Open and the Crowns, where he failed to make the cut. He finished with first and second round over-par scores of 81 and 82 at the Tsuruya Open and 77 and 78 at the Crowns last year.
The young golfing sensation of Japan, Ryo Ishikawa won the Crowns last year with a staggering five-shot lead, winning ¥24,000,000 of winner’s share. The Crowns is one of the coveted tournaments on the Japan Tour held every year from April 28 to May 1. The
tournament venue is the Nagoya Golf Club Wago Course and has a total purse of ¥120,000,000.
Sugihara is ranked sixth among the players who have won the most number of tournaments on the Japan Tour, just ahead of Shingo Katayama. He is also the oldest golfers still playing on the Japan Tour.
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