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A fourth Olympics for golf and thus it has been a peculiar relationship. The first two times golf was a part of sport’s greatest party it was, as the wider event was, something of an odd free-for-all and the medal winners, while not complete no-hopers, were not really top grade either. Then, five years ago the sport’s return was greeted with excitement by some and apathy by others. It didn’t help that the Zika virus prompted fears of travelling to Brazil – and of course there’s en element of deja vu five years on. For Justin Rose, Rio 2016 was a triumph: he adored the week, thrived on being a part of the ceremony, being among other athletes, flying the flag, embracing the festival of sport. He rode the wave and was quite clearly inspired when overcoming Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar to top the podium. His excitement and joy had a powerful effect – others who had been half-hearted about the exercise wanted a bit of what he had. This week’s test is Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course, built in 1929 by Charles Alison, a partner of Harry Colt (and designer of Sea Island’s Seaside Course, well half of it – another nine was added to his originals). It is what you would expect of a layout from that era – classic lines and shaping. But the trees also matured a little too much and the demands of the modern game meant that Tom Fazio was called in for an upgrade. A sad effect of this was that the traditional Japanese quirk of two greens on each hole (a brilliantly idiosyncratic response to climate difficulties) was reverted to the standard one. Expect, therefore, a quality test, with old virtues, somewhat meddled with by the present. Beware one piece of information: Hideki Matsuyama did win the Asia Pacific Amateur at the club, but on the West Course.
Angles to consider 1/ Pride There’s absolutely no doubt that Justin Rose was motivated and fuelled by Olympic excitement. The same could be said of Rickie Fowler, who finished T37th, so it’s also a bit of swings and roundabouts among the rings. 2/ Greens in Regulation Back in 2006 the winner of the Japan Open here was Sheehan who ranked sixth for hitting the greens. Three of the top four ranked top eight. Seven of the top nine (and 15 of the top 20 ranked) top 18. 3/ Course type Designed and built in the early decades of the 20th century, with Colt principles, look for players who are proven on such tracks. It may or may not be coincidence that Sheehan’s two wins on home soil were at Royal Adelaide and Spring Valley, both classic designs (the latter is on the Melbourne sandbelt – Sheehan is based on another, Victorian GC).
Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Abraham Ancer He ranks eighth in this field for Greens in Regulation over the last year and he’s also finished top eight four times in his last eight starts. That form would have got him in the top seven this week which is what Hill’s are paying out. The clincher is how well he played at Royal Melbourne in the Presidents Cup – three and a half points from four before Tiger Woods (playing very, very well) beat him in the singles. Sungjae Im Another who played well at Royal Melbourne in 2019 for the International team. He got three points from four matches, including victory in his singles. He’s a brute tee to green, he’s finished second at Augusta National, was third when the PGA Tour visited Japan in late 2019, he has lots of experience in Japan, and he has an odd motivation: a medal here this week will earn him a national service reprieve. Scott Vincent Without doubt a rank outsider, but only top 10 and he ranked seventh for hitting the greens in his last start, he’s very well-travelled which speaks to his adaptability which will be handy in yet another example of different protocols, and his Japanese experience is really good. He won there in 2019, was second there in May, and has five top six finishes in his last 20 starts.
Tips: 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Abraham Ancer at 25/1 (William Hill 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) 14th 1pt e.w. Sungjae Im at 30/1 (Unibet 1/5 1,2,3,4) 22nd 1pt e.w. Scott Vincent top 10 at 14/1 (Unibet) 16th
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