The 77th Japan PGA Championship is being held at the Eniwa Country Club (7,134 yards, par 70) in Eniwa City in Hokkaido Prefecture. The tournament is the second domestic major after last week’s Japan Golf Tour Championship. The stage this year to decide the top pro player in Japan consists of a tough course layout that includes three par 4 holes of 500 yards or more such as the 518-yard No. 3 along with the 500-yard No. 11 and 501-yard No. 15. Long course layouts are becoming the standard around the world, and the reason for this course layout may be due in part to a desire to have Japanese players develop more into “global” players. In last week's Japan Golf Tour Championship, Team PRGR’s Azuma Yano finished in a tie for 22nd and Hideto Tanihara finished in a tie 44th, which delayed achievement of a first win at a major tournament for both of them.

As Yano made his way to the course on the Tuesday practice day with a smile on his face, he had this to say: “My golf game is getting better day by day. On the last day (of the Tour Championship), I was at one under. However, my worries about my shot had gone away to a degree that wasn’t really reflected in my score. My sights are set now on the US Open (next week), and I feel like I’ve gotten my game together just in time.” Yano then fired off a succession of great shots on the driving range and went to play his practice round on the course. He stated that he feels he’s in top form. “The key is to be able to hit in an actual tournament the way you do in practice. By the time the tournament starts, I feel like I’ll have cleared that barrier. For the first time since tour started, I think I’m finally able to play the kind of golf I can be satisfied with. I also think I have plenty of ability to vie for victories.”

To deal with the rough made up of characteristic Hokkaido grass and also in looking towards his first time competing in the US Open next week, Yano tested out a steel shaft and a carbon shaft M3 HIT 7 wood (21˚ loft) in his practice round. Yano said, “With the 7 wood, I can even easily hit out of the rough, and I get even more flight distance than I expected.” By putting the most effective weapon in his hands to compete in a major tournament, Yano seems to have reduced his uncertainties all the more.

Tanihara, who lost form with his shot over the three-week layoff period in May, came into the second major with a brighter mood. Tanihara said, “I eliminated the gap between how I’m imagining my shots and how I’m actually shooting.” Tanihara also tried out the same M3 HIT 7 wood that Yano tested. While intently hitting a number of practice shots, Tanihara said, “You can easily hit the ball out of the rough.” When asked in a press conference about how he has currently made little progress in taking over the money leader crown, Tanihara said, “Right now I'm on my approach run. I’m in no hurry at all. At some point, I’ll reach the top spot.”

It was evident from both golfers’ statements that they felt their golf games are looking up. However, competition on the first day of the tournament was cancelled due to rain. The qualifying rounds will be held on Friday and Saturday, while the championship round will be held on Sunday. In the wide expanse of northern Japan, we hope that Team PRGR can win a major! We have our hopes up.