With a three-shot lead and eight holes remaining on Sunday, June 30 in the final round of the US Senior Open, Japan's Hiroyuki Fujita looked on the way to victory and the $800,000 USD (¥129.3 million JPY) prize for first place.
However, severe weather in the form of heavy rain and lightning intervened, postponing the rest of the round at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, until Monday morning, July1.
Unfortunately for Fujita, the delay caused him to lose his momentum and he ended up falling to Britain's Richard Bland on the fourth hole of a dramatic playoff on the 7,024-yard course near Narragansett Bay.
Hiroyuki Fujita Struggles After Play Resumes
When play resumed Monday, the 55-year-old Fujita bogeyed three of the first four holes but hung on to force the playoff with par on the 18th hole after Bland made bogey.
Bland carded a four-under 66 in the fourth round, while Fujita shot a 1-over as both finished at 13-under par.
The playoff format at the US Senior Open calls for a two-hole aggregate score. Bland and Fujita both parred the first two holes, then each made bogey on the third hole when the playoff became sudden death.
Bland Seals the Win on the Fourth Hole
The 51-year-old Bland, who won the Senior PGA Championship on May 26, brought the tournament to an end on the fourth hole with a shot from the bunker that hit the flagstick and then drained a short putt for par and the victory.
Fujita, a Fukuoka native, just missed a 20-foot par putt on the fourth hole and ended up with a bogey and the second-place prize of $432,000 (¥69.8 million).
"The trap shot was one of those you could be really aggressive with and I'm just thrilled beyond words," Bland was quoted as saying by Sky Sports after his win. "To go two-for-two [in senior majors] is beyond my wildest dreams."
Fujita Reflects on the Rain Delay
Fujita admitted that the delay worked against him.
"By spending one more night, I got a lot of thoughts and got cloudy," Fujita told Golf Digest Online. "But that can't be helped. The most regretful thing is the third hole of the playoff, where I couldn't get the left bunker shot [near the pin]."
Fujita, who has won 18 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour and three senior events in his home country, seemingly came out of nowhere to nearly claim the title in just his fifth start in a senior major. Japanese golf icon Isao Aoki was the US Senior Open runner-up in 2001.
Fellow player Billy Andrade told the Golf Channel on Sunday about Fujita, "I've asked so many people, who is this guy? I talked with Steve Stricker last night upstairs in the locker room, he said, 'Man, I'll tell you this guy can play.' "
RELATED:
- Miyuu Yamashita Places 2nd in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship
- [ODDS and EVENS] Hideki Matsuyama Returns to Winning Form at the Genesis Invitational
Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login