Professional golf continues to prove it is an international game, in particular in Japan.

Second-year LPGA Tour player Mao Saigo (Bridgestone Tour B XS) became the latest native of Japan to claim a major, winning The Chevron Championship. Only six from Japan have won a major collectively on the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour: Ayaka Furue (Bridgestone Tour B XS) in the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship; Yuka Saso (Callaway Chrome Tour X) in the 2024 and 2021 U.S. Women’s Open; Hideki Matsuyama (Srixon Z-Star XV) in the 2021 Masters; Hinako Shibuno (Titleist Pro V1) in the 2019 AIG Women’s Open; and Hisako Higuchi in the 1977 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The fact it is starting to happen on an annual basis says something about the growth of the game in Japan.

I am old enough to remember Masashi (Jumbo) Ozaki, the pre-eminent Japanese golfer, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. He is first all-time on the Japan Golf Tour with 94 wins. Though he never won a PGA Tour major, he had top-10 finishes in the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

The LPGA of Japan Tour is proving to being a key stepping stone for the women playing on the LPGA Tour. Miyu Yamashita (Titleist Pro V1x), who is only 23 and stands a mere four-foot-eleven, has been a dominant player on the LPGA of Japan Tour for years, and served notice of her talent tying for second in the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship. This year she has three top-10 finishes in six tournaments and has only missed the cut once. Expect her to win an LPGA Tour win sooner rather than later.

There are many young Japanese men worth noting, including 22-year-old Ryu Hisatsune (TaylorMade TP5x), who is in his second full-season playing full-time on the PGA Tour. He has multiple top-10 finishes, including this year in the Valspar Championship and Valero Texas Open. The 2024 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, the first from his country to receive that award, played in the Masters for the first time im 2024 but missed the cut. I believe it is only a matter of time before he wins on the PGA Tour.

A MAJOR FIRST: Five players qualified for the playoff in The Chevron Championship, the first time ever on the LPGA Tour for a major. Each took turns on either the final hole in regulation play or the playoff hole missing chances to win. What may have been the strangest happening – and I’m sure every recreational player can relate, albeit not with so much on the line – was former world number one Ariya Jutanugarn (Titleist Pro V1x) chipping out of the rough with her second shot and moving it only a few inches. In fact, the announcers said it looked like she was taking a practise swing. She had a one-stroke lead going into the par-five 18th and ended up bogeying it, missing a chance to win her third major. She ended up making par on the playoff hole. Ruoning Yin (Callaway Chrome Tour) landed her second shot on the first playoff hole, about 15 feet from the hole, with what appeared to be the best chance to win. But the possible eagle ended up as a par.

A COUPLE OF FIRSTS: Both Andrew Novak (Srixon Z-Star) and Ben Griffin (Maxfli Tour X) teamed up to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I’m not crazy about the two-player team event, in particular because both players are credited with a PGA Tour win and get numerous invitations and exemptions to future events and FedExCup points. Granted, Griffin really helped his partner making a tricky birdie on the 17^th home to give the pair a two-shot cushion going into the final hole. Nicolai Hojgaard (Callaway Chrome Tour X) and Rasmus Hojgaard (Callaway Chrome Tour Dot) placed second. Jake Knapp (Titleist Pro V1) and Frankie Capan III (Titleist Pro V1) were going neck-and-neck with Novak and Griffin until bogeying the 17^th hole.

Novak, with his first PGA Tour win in his 100^th event), suffered a tough defeat the week before finishing second to Justin Thomas (Titleist Pro V1x) in a playoff in the RBC Heritage. Griffin, winning for the first time on the PGA Tour in his 90^th event, quit the game four years ago frustrated with failure and took a job as a mortgage loan officer because he was tired of having to rely on his parents for money. For now, anyway, he has some house money, so to speak. Both he and his partner collected $1.3 million. He's earned more than $2.6 million this year. In 2024, he earned a career record $3.3 million.