Tanihara shot 16 under at the Panasonic Open to notch his second victory for the season and eighth win overall on the tour. The tournament was held over four days from Thursday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 28 on the West course (7,040 yards, par 70) of the Ibaraki Country Club in Osaka Prefecture. With Yano finishing just one stroke back in second place, Team PRGR posted its first 1, 2 finish.

Yano was looking for his second win in a row after playing great golf to win the ANA Open the previous week, and Tanihara was chasing his second win of the season. Both entered the last day tied in the top spot at 12 under. After they both birdied the 2nd hole, Tanihara birdied the 5th and 6th holes in succession to pull ahead. After this, both golfers showed fine play as neither conceded an inch, and the 7,940 spectators following the action on foot were treated to an excellent display of golf.

They lined up at the 193-yard par 3 17th hole with a two-stroke difference between them. With his Silver Blade (SB-03CS) putter in his left hand, Yano thrust his fist in the air after hitting his 7-metre birdie putt. Tanihara, who at that moment was only leading by one stroke, raised his putter in the air in exaltation after nailing a 3-metre birdie putt with his own Silver Blade putter to reopen a two-stroke lead.

Although Yano birdied the final 18th hole to get back to just one stroke behind, Tanihara tapped in a winning putt to become the first Panasonic Open champion.

Tanihara stated after the match, "Yano is also a great putter, so he's not going to bogey many holes. He's a great player, and showed a lot of fight. I pulled ahead at the beginning, but the second half was close. It was great to be able to pull through under pressure." Yano, who finished a close second and was looking forward to next week's match, stated, "From a match standpoint and from the standpoint of my own play, looking back on the 18 holes on the last day - they were really fun. Despite the result today, being in the running for the win two weeks in a row gives me a lot of confidence. I'll be aiming for a win next week, too."

The 1, 2 finish by Team PRGR was the best in its history. Also, both golfers jumped up on the money leader board with Tanihara going to No. 1 and Yano improving to No. 4. The overall money leader champ has heated up. As we enter the second half of the tour, Team PRGR's momentum is only getting stronger.