Toyota Junior Golf World Cup: Boys' race tightens as Canada, U.S. make gains

Japanese boys maintained a 2-stroke lead over Canada after the penultimate round of the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup at Chukyo Golf Club in Japan on Thursday.

On their part, the Korean girls could be on their way to winning their first title, having maintained the same margin over Thailand after the third round of the annual event.

African representatives South Africa and Kenya continued to trail in both categories, with the South African boys 7 strokes off while their girls were also 20 strokes away as the championship heads to the business end.

The list of golf achievements by Korea’s women and girls is extensive over the past three decades, yet there’s one piece of hardware that’s still never found its way to the nation’s trophy case. One more strong performance at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup might change that.

“Korea has won a lot of international tournaments, but here there are no wins. I was so shocked to hear that,” said Seojin Park, now standing with her teammates on the brink of filling that vacancy if they can bring it across a soggy finish line.

With golfers playing in an all-day drizzle, Park fashioned a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday, and Jimin Song carded a 70 that allowed Team Korea to maintain a two-shot advantage after three rounds at Chukyo Golf Club outside Nagoya.

“I really want to win it this year,” Park added. To do so, they’ll have to stave off the defending champions. Thailand, behind Suripreeya Pruksanubal’s 68, turned in the day’s best outing to surge past a struggling Japan as they seek a second consecutive championship.

Japan’s boys also faced their share of troubles Thursday, allowing that race to tighten in the face of challenges from both Canada and the United States. Starting the day with a three-shot advantage, the hosts briefly fell behind both rivals before a late push put them up by two again.

“You just try to forget the rain and keep things the same as always,” said Kotaro Otawa, whose 1-under 70 was matched by teammate Taisei Nagasaki. “But it is very difficult.” Japan reached the three-day checkpoint at 21-under 405, with Canada and the United States ending their day in a deadlock for second.

“We’ve got three guys playing well,” said Cameron Kuchar, whose 68 paced Team USA’s effort. “It would mean a lot to come over here representing our country and walk away with a gold medal.”

Japan’s Anna Iwanaga separated herself on the girls’ individual leaderboard, using a bogey-free 68 to move four shots ahead of her nearest pursuers. But she’ll need some help from teammates if Japan is to make up a five-shot deficit in the team competition. “In three holes, the team score can change,” she said hopefully. “If I play well and focus on each shot, I’ll be able to contribute to the team.”

A constant drizzle, turning slightly more intense at times, greeted golfers Thursday, a distinct change from Wednesday’s prime scoring conditions. After nearly two-thirds of both fields broke par in Round 2, that number was cut in half on Thursday.

“It’s far different from playing when it is sunny, even though we are trying to do the same,” Ogawa said.

Forecasts for Friday’s finale call for more of the same, though there’s a chance conditions could start clearing as golfers play their final nines. That was an improvement from earlier forecasts. “I was worried they might cancel (the last round),” Park said, “so I played every shot like it was the final round. I didn’t want to regret any shot out there.”

Though Korea’s boys have won team titles in 2002 and ’24, the best the girls have done is a trio of runner-up finishes.

“Yeah, I heard that from our coach, there are no girl wins, so you need to do that,” Park said. Park and Song have carried a relatively equal load, also tied for second on the individual leaderboard behind Iwanaga. Park’s round featured a nice bounceback, countering consecutive bogeys just after the turn with birdies at Nos. 14 and 17, coaxing home a 28-foot putt for the second.

Thailand, which came from behind on the final day to win last year’s crown, now finds itself in a similar position. Pruksanubal’s 68 was complemented by a 70 from Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul, as the Thais had Thursday’s best team score. “We’ll just need to play as we have in the past,” said Prim Prachnakorn, part of last year’s champions and runners-up in 2024. “I’m not going to think much about (winning). I need to focus on the shot first; then whatever happens will happen.”

Though Japan’s boys also have an edge in experience, they fought through early struggles Thursday. None were under par after their opening nines, finally finding a rhythm after the turn. Ogawa’s three consecutive birdies at Nos. 4-6 provided a boost, and a late Nagasaki birdie doubled the cushion.

Restrepo tied for medalist honours with Nagasaki a year ago, shared the first-round lead, and shook off a tough stretch Wednesday to keep himself in the hunt. He would be the first repeat medalist in the boys’ division since Venezuela’s Jorge Garcia in 2013 and ’14. “I’m very competitive and like to win,” he said.

“But I need to stick to my process and control the things I can control. If the result goes my way, that would be awesome.”

Craig threw himself into the mix with his 65, which might be as impressive as anything this week in more favourable conditions.

“I played about what I thought I was going to play today,” said Craig, whose round was three shots better than anyone else in the top 10. “I didn’t really think about how tough it was.”

BOYS TEAM STANDINGS

1.   Japan                   134-131-140=405 (-21)
t2.  Canada                136-132-139=407 (-19)
t2.  United States      139-130-138=407 (-19)
4.   South Africa        135-143-134=412 (-14)
t5.  Thailand              134-134-145=413 (-13)
t5.  Australia              138-136-139=413 (-13)
t5.  Czechia                142-134-137=413 (-13)
t8.  France                  139-132-143=414 (-12)
t8.  Colombia             139-140-135=414 (-12)
10. Puerto Rico          141-135-139=415 (-11)
11. Argentina             146-143-143=432 (+6)
12. Kenya                   153-144-149=446 (+20)

GIRLS TEAM STANDINGS

1.  Korea                    134-137-139=410 (-22)

2.  Thailand               142-132-138=412 (-20)

3.  Japan                    137-136-142=415 (-17)
t4. Colombia             136-140-146=422 (-10)

t4. United States      139-144-139=422 (-10)

6.  Australia               145-135-143=423 (-9)

7.  Canada                 140-141-144=425 (-7)

8.  South Africa         144-139-148=431 (-1)

9.  Spain                    138-144-152=434 (+2)