Golf - The 151st Open Championship - Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, Britain - July 20, 2023 Japan's Kazuki Higa tees off on the 7th hole during the first round. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Kazuki Higa became the first Japanese golfer to win the Asian Tour's Order of Merit on Saturday after finishing seventh at the season-ending Saudi Open.
Higa, 30, carded a four-under-par 68 in the final round at Dirab Golf and Country Club, closing on 16-under, seven behind Sweden's Bjorn Hellgren, the tournament winner.
His performance secured him the top spot in the Asian Tour standings, ahead of Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent.
"I am so, so happy. This is a great honour. I just love playing golf. That's what it's about. I can't wait to get home to see my family," Higa said.
Higa's ascent up the rankings gained momentum with back-to-back wins at September's Shinhan Donghae Open in South Korea and Yeangder TPC in Taiwan, followed by a runner-up finish at the International Series Philippines in October.
For his achievement, Higa also earned an exemption to the British Open.
"I have worked very hard for this. I felt that last year changed things, all the hard work started to pay off and it's amazing to see it all pay off this week," Higa said.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
