Kasaoka, Okayama, Japan: Four players will secure places in the 2014 Open Championship at the Open Qualifying Series Japan – Mizuno Open this week.
The event is the fourth stop in the Open Qualifying Series and will give players from across the region the chance to qualify to play in golf’s oldest Major championship.
A field of 144 golfers from eight countries will compete over 72 holes at JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama from May 29-June 1. Four players that finish in the top-12 and ties, who are not already exempt, will earn places in the field for the 143rd Open Championship which will be played at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake from July 17-20.
The Open Qualifying Series comprises 14 events in nine countries on five continents and offers players the opportunity to qualify for The Open at prestigious events on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Japan Golf Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Japan’s Shingo Katayama will lead the home challenge this week. The 41-year-old has won 27 times on the Japan Golf Tour and has made seven appearances at The Open. His best finish was in 2003 at Royal St George’s, where he tied for 34th.
Katayama earned one of the four qualifying spots on offer at the Mizuno Open in 2013 and will be looking to repeat his success this year at Setonaikai. “Many great players have played in The Open Championship over the years and to follow in their footsteps is a truly special experience,” said Katayama.
“I have been proud to play in The Open on several occasions. I played at Royal Liverpool in 2006 and I know that it is a great links course. My aim is to play well this week at the Mizuno Open and to qualify to play at Hoylake once again this year.”
Another Japanese player expected to be a contender is Toru Taniguchi, a 19-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour. The 46-year-old was Japan’s highest ranked golfer in 2007 and 2008 when he featured in the top 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He has made nine appearances at The Open since 1998 and his best finish was tied 37th at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2001.
“The Mizuno Open has always been a good opportunity for players from this part of the world to qualify to play in The Open. There are many strong players in the field and I am certain that the competition will be very tough for the four places,” said Taniguchi.
“It has been an honour for me to play in The Open over the years and this week gives me a fantastic opportunity to qualify to play at Royal Liverpool and be part of the championship once again. I have done well here in the past and a place in The Open is a great incentive for me.”
Among the other players in the field with Open Championship experience are Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng, who has made five appearances at The Open and Australian Brad Kennedy, the 2012 Mizuno Open champion.
The 2013 Mizuno Open runner-up Kim Kyung-tae of Korea will also be looking to make his return to The Open after finishing tied for 73rdin 2013 at Muirfield, as will Japan’s Hideto Tanihara who finished tied for fifth at the 2006 Open at Royal Liverpool.

Liang Wen-Chong of China will be looking to make his first appearance at The Open since 2009 after securing his place in the 2014 US Open at the Japan qualifying event yesterday.
Four players in the field have already secured places at The Open. Masanori Kobayashi, the 2013 Japan Open winner, will play at Royal Liverpool along with Hiroshi Iwata, Yoshinobu Tsukada and China’s Wu Ashun who qualified at the Open Qualifying Series – Thailand event in March.
The four players that qualify for The Open this week will join Australians John Senden, Rhein Gibson and Bryden Macpherson who qualified at the Emirates Australian Open in November 2013. George Coetzee and Justin Walters of South Africa and Korean Jin Jeong secured the three places on offer at The Joburg Open in South Africa in February. Amateur Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Taipei was the fourth player to qualify in Thailand.