Tanihara's 66 good for one-shot win in Japan

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OSAKA, Japan -- Japan's Hideto Tanihara triumphed in the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open by one stroke and later dedicated his victory to his wife on Sunday.

Tanihara battled hard for a four-under-par 66 in the final round at Ibaraki Country Club's West Course to hold off his close friend and co-overnight leader Azuma Yano, who shot a 67 in the $1.85 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.

It was so close yet so far once again for Chinese star Liang Wen-chong, who made a bold charge with a 65 but settled for joint third place alongside Kenichi Kuboya, two behind the winner. It was Liang's seventh top-three finish in Japan.

New Zealand's Mark Brown eagled the last hole for a 67 to share fifth place with Kaname Yokoo and strengthened his lead at the top of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit while Korea's Bae Sang-moon carded an unlucky 68 for equal seventh position.

Tanihara, who led with Yano after Saturday's third round, was delighted to capture his second title of the year and career eighth win after accumulating a four-day total of 16-under-par 264.

"I hit some great shots. I missed some birdie chances early on and thought that luck wasn't with me. After making birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, it became a lot better," said the 29-year-old, who pocketed the winner's check of $387,034.

Tanihara was in total control of the final round, moving to three under through 10 holes to lead by two shots. But on 15, he was forced to make a crucial par save from the greenside bunker to preserve his advantage, which was later reduced to one when Yano birdied the closing two holes.

"The key was the 15th hole. I had a tough bunker shot and I'm really glad to sink the par putt (from eight feet)," he said.

Tanihara, who moves up to the top of the Japan money rankings, said his wife Ayaka has been a big influence in his game ever since they tied the knot earlier this year. "My wife was with me all day. Every week, she comes out to watch me play and she'll write down notes and we'll go through what I did wrong. I think that was what helped me this week too.

"I'm finally married now and I'm glad to get another win. Now, I'm No. 1 on the Japan rankings and I'll keep aiming for more wins."

Liang, the reigning Asian Tour number one, sank five birdies against no bogeys but his title charge came up short. "I guess I still need more practice. I struck it well and made some putts. I tried to push hard from the start but I hit a lot of putts past the edges.

"My game is getting better. I think with more practice, I'll keep going forward and hopefully will win again. On the back nine, I felt I was right in it but I just couldn't convert my chances," said the 30-year-old, China's first winner Asian Tour number one.

Brown, who has won twice in Asia this season, rolled in a 12-foot eagle putt at the last which saw him enjoy a first top-five finish since April. "It was the best that I played all week. I played great tee to green and hit a lot of good shots and didn't hole a thing until the last hole which was a good finish," said the Kiwi, who increased his season's haul to approximately US$725,600.

"I'm not thinking about the Order of Merit. It's just nice to finish well after some average form in Europe."

Big-hitting Bae was two strokes off the lead after turning in 31 but ran up a double bogey on the 10th hole after losing his ball with an errant drive. He also hit it out of bounds by a yard at the last hole as his hopes dipped dramatically .

"It was a nice feeling as I was playing well on the front nine. But on the 10th hole, I pushed my drive right and the ball hit a tree. I thought it was up there somewhere but we couldn't find it. It was very unlucky," said the 22-year-old Korea.