Japan wins Shinhan Donghae Open for 3rd straight year as Sunagawa claims maiden title

Sunagawa Kosuke of Japan held off a pack of Korean challengers to claim his first professional victory at the 42nd Shinhan Donghae Open, which carried a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.12 million).

Playing the final round Sunday at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon's Songdo district (par 72, 7,502 yards), Sunagawa carded a 3-under-par 69 — four birdies against one bogey — to finish at 16-under 272 and win by two strokes over a four-way tie for second that included Moon Do-yeop, Jang Yu-bin, Lee Sang-hee and Japan's Ohori Yuji.

Sunagawa, who turned professional in 2020, vaulted to the top of the leaderboard Saturday with a bogey-free, seven-birdie round and never relinquished the lead in the final round, navigating the day without a serious crisis. The victory earned him a winner's share of 300 million won, a two-year Japan Golf Tour Organization seed and a five-year KPGA Tour card.

Jang Yu-bin's performance was a disappointment. Starting the final round one stroke off the lead in a tie for second, Jang surged to outright first with back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes, only to lose momentum when he missed a 1-meter par putt on the par-3 eighth hole.

Jang could not sustain a charge on the back nine either, giving back a birdie on the 10th with a bogey on the 14th, and had to settle for a share of the runner-up position after a birdie on the par-5 18th.

Moon Do-yeop, who had dropped two shots Saturday and fallen off the lead, produced a dazzling finish — four consecutive birdies on holes 15 through 18 — to join the tie for second and raise hopes for a gold medal at the Asian Games two weeks away. Moon made a double bogey on the par-4 11th after finding the water off the tee; without that mistake, he would have been in contention to win.

Lee Sang-hee, who won the KBC Augusta in Japan two weeks ago, fired a bogey-free 5-under 67 with five birdies to also finish tied for second. Lee narrowly missed sole runner-up honors after failing to convert a 2-meter birdie putt on the par-5 18th.

Sunagawa's victory means the Shinhan Donghae Open trophy has gone to a Japanese player for three consecutive years. Hirata Kensei won in 2024, Higa Kazuki in 2025, and now Sunagawa this year. Japanese players have claimed the title four times in the past five years, establishing a clear edge over their Korean counterparts on home soil.

Analysts point to course conditions and short-game proficiency as key factors behind Japan's dominance. Many courses on the Japan Golf Tour feature firm, fast greens, deep and thick rough, and strategically placed bunkers — the hallmarks of traditional tournament layouts.

At Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, scrambling ability — recovering from missed greens — was critical, as was precise wedge distance control, and it was in these areas that the Japanese players' fundamentals proved superior.

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