Dunlop Phoenix Tournament - This year's highlights
<Masashi Ozaki, the one and only player to participate 40 years in a row>
Since the beginning of the tournament, dating back to 1974, Masashi Ozaki has participated every year and this tournament will be a landmark 40th entry. During that time, he has won 3 consecutive titles from 1994 to 1996.
<Luke Donald, aiming for a back-to-back victory>
Only 3 players have been successful in their title defense in past tournaments; Larry Mize(1989-90), Masashi Ozaki(1994-96), and Tiger Woods(2004-05). If Luke Donald successfully defends his title this year, he will become only the fourth player to achieve the feat. Players who have marked multiple victories(non-consecutive) are, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Thomas Bjorn and Bobby Wadkins.
<Will Hideki Matsuyama make it this time round?>
Hideki Matsuyama entered last year's tournament as an amateur and ended up as the runner-up. With last year's champion Luke Donald entering again this year, there will be much focus on whether the Japanese rising star can take vengeance. Matsuyama, already with 3 domestic titles(Tsuruya Open, Diamond Cup, Fuji Sankei Classic) to his name this year, is the current leader of the Japanese prize money ranking and has also made his mark on the global scene, finishing 10th in the US Open and 6th in the Open. He has impressed already in this year's opening match of the PGA tour, recording a personal best 3rd placed finish.
JGTO(Japan Golf Tour)annual prize money record: ￥217,934,583 recorded by Toshimitsu Izawa(2001). Matsuyama's current prize money: ￥153,333,448. Difference(as of Oct. 13th): ￥64,601,135
<Youngest record beckons for Masahiro Kawamura>
The youngest player to have won the tournament is Seve Ballesteros in 1977, at the age of 20 years and 7 months. Ryo Ishikawa and Hideki Matsuyama both failed to better the record and this year, Masahiro Kawamura, the Panasonic Open champion, will be the latest player to make the attempt. Kawamura, born on July 25th 1993, will become 20 years and 5 months on the day after the final round. Many eyes will be on him to break this long standing record.
<8 new contestants this year>
This year's Dunlop Phoenix Tournament will feature 8 new players consisting of 5 overseas(Keegan Bradley, Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Alexander Noren, Charlie Beljan) and 3 domestic players(Ho-Sung Choi, Satoshi Kodaira, Masahiro Kawamura). Johnny Miller, Calvin Peete, David Frost, Ernie Els, David Duval, Padraig Harrington and Edoardo Molinari have all previously won on their first appearance, and the 8 debutants will be looking to follow suit.
6 Japanese players have become champions in the past 39 tournaments. Ozaki's 3 back-to-back victories makes it 8 victories for home ground players which means the remaining 80% of the tournament have been won by overseas players. Masashi Ozaki claimed his long anticipated victory on his 21st attempt, while Tommy Nakajima won it on his 9th entry. It took Kaname Yokoo and Toshinori Muto 6 tournaments, Shingo Katayama 4 while Yuta Ikeda succeeded only on his second attempt.
