Different Strokes: Semikawa seems a little bit special

“I want to do my best to become a player like Tiger Woods,” said world amateur number one Taiga Semikawa, after he beat off the professionals – among them Adam Scott – to lift the Japan Open title.

And, for sure, it would seem the 21-year-old is a little bit special.

His success in the Japan Open was his third in a matter of months when pitted against the pros, having won the Japan Create Challenge on a development circuit and then the Panasonic Open on the Japanese Tour last month.

A fourth year university student at Fukushi University, Semikawa made a huge impression on his occasional forays into professional tournaments as reflected in an upward trajectory in the official world rankings where he has moved from 1,744th at the end of 2021 to a current position of 347th, sandwiched between professionals Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and Peter Uhlein.

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Semikawa’s position as number one in the WAGR, which he has held for the past five weeks after leapfrogging Sweden’s Ludvig Aber, is set to come to an end next month as he is reported to be turning professional and set to play on a sponsor’s invitation in the Visa Taiheiyo tournament.

Na Yeon Choi bows out in style

As retirement presents go, the one Na Yeon Choi earned for herself – winning a BMW X7 SUV for a hole-in-one in the BMW Ladies Championship in Seoul – would be hard to beat.

Marking her retirement from the LPGA Tour, the 35-year-old South Korean earned the luxury car for acing the 12th during her third round and was in floods of tears as she holed out a putt for the last time in completing her final round in a tournament won by Lydia Ko. Choi had announced her retirement earlier this year and had requested a sponsor’s invite into the event in Seoul.

Choi won nine times on the LPGA Tour, the highlight being her 2012 success in the US Women’s Open.

Word of Mouth

“I’m looking forward to some time off. I will not touch a club for the foreseeable future, [it’s] very needed . . . it’s time to be a dad and enjoy some benefits of good play and just be home again, be dad and have a good time for a little bit” – Jon Rahm on planning to spend time away from golf at home with the family in Arizona.

By the Numbers: 2

It’s the last chance saloon this week for Jonathan Caldwell and Cormac Sharvin in the final regular season tournament on the DP World Tour as they seek to retain their full tour status through the order of merit. Both are in the field for the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura, with Caldwell 195th and Sharvin 236th on the rankings. The provisional cut-off for those retaining full cards is 117th, so both need a really big week to avoid a trip back to Q-school next month.

On this day: October 25th,1992

There can be no doubt that David Feherty enjoyed a colourful career on tour – before he switched roles into broadcasting – and, for the man who in his time was hospitalised after being bitten by a snake during a practice round, there was also some drama in how he closed the deal to claim the Madrid Open.

In what would prove to be the fifth and last time he won on the European Tour, Feherty trailed Mark McNulty (then of Zimbabwee before gaining Irish citizenship) by two shots heading into the final round of a tournament that also had Eamonn Darcy and Ronan Rafferty in the mix.

Feherty proved up to the task, the Co Down player producing a final round 67 to McNulty’s 73 to ultimately coast to a four strokes winning margin with Darcy and Rafferty two strokes further back in tied-third.

Rounds of 71-65-69-67 for 16-under-par 272 at Real Clud de la Puerta de Hierro gave Feherty victory and earned him a payday equivalent to €93,324.

Twitter Twaddle

Just wasn’t to be …shot 69 to finish T3, 2 shots back. Much improved ball striking from last week. Well done to Steve Alker. Probably need to win the last two events to have any chance of catching Steven in the Schwab Cup @ChampionsTour @DECCGolf – Pádraig Harrington on coming up just short in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. The Dubliner is currently second behind Alker in the order of merit, with two events – the Timber Tech Championship on November 4th-6th and the Charles Schwab Cup on November 10th-13th – remaining this season.

Some golf being played by @McIlroyRory right now. #1 in the world yet again! Congrats to him and his team – Respect for McIlory from Justin Thomas.

Awesome to see Rory McIlroy on top of the world of golf!! What a champion. And a top man! Thanks again to him for sending (an autographed flag) to the kids of the MLV Academy. They are even more motivated to win it at the end of the year for the school competition! – European Tour player Mike Lorenzo Vera on receiving a signed Royal Co Down Golf Club flag from McIlroy.

In the Bag

Rory McIlroy - The CJ Cup

Driver – TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees)

3-wood – TaylorMade SIM2 Titanium (15 degrees)

5-wood – TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons – TaylorMade Rors Proto (3-9)

Wedges – TaylorMade MG3 Raw (46, 54 and 58 degrees)

Putter – TaylorMade Spider Hydro Blast

Ball – TaylorMade TP5x

Know the Rules

Q In strokeplay, a player’s ball lies in a red penalty area. Before making her next stroke, she removes loose leaves from around her ball and takes several practice swings which touch the ground within the penalty area. What is the ruling?

A There is no penalty (Rule 15.1 and Rule 17.1b) for the player’s actions.