Tokyo, Japan: Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Cheng-wei and Japan’s Akane Motomura celebrated contrasting victories at the fifth edition of The Royal Junior.

While Hsieh produced an epic revival before edging Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki in a sudden-death play-off to claim the boys’ title, Motomura led from wire-to-wire in the girls’ division, winning by six strokes.

Three shots off the pace in joint fourth place overnight, Hsieh posted a closing one-under-par 71 at The Royal Club for a 54-hole total of three-over 219.

He appeared down and out after back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11 took him to four-over for the day – five behind Nagasaki, who was playing ahead of him in the penultimate flight. But the Chinese Taipei player covered the final seven holes in five-under, courtesy of birdies at 12, 16 and 18 and an eagle-three at the long 13th.

Nagasaki, meanwhile, was even par for the same stretch, meaning the duo ended locked together.

At the first extra hole – the par-four 18th – it was Hsieh who prevailed. While Nagasaki’s par attempt from 15 feet failed to drop, Hsieh executed a 30-yard chip to perfection, leaving him a tap-in for a winning par.

Defeat was cruel on Nagasaki, who suffered a similar fate at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai last October when he was edged out in a play-off by Thailand’s Pongsapak ‘Fifa’ Laopakdee, whose success earned him exemptions into the Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

With this latest loss, Nagasaki has once more been denied a trip to England, that reward going to Hsieh who will compete in the 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool and West Lancashire in June.

Hsieh, who represented his country in the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship for the Nomura Cup and is currently 474th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said: “This is definitely the biggest win of my career. I now look forward to the Amateur Championship where the standard of play will be very high.”

Languishing in equal 15th place after an error-strewn opening 79 on Friday that contained nine bogeys, Hsieh battled his way into contention with a day two 69. He had to display resilience in the final round, too, refusing to back down even after suffering a double-bogey six at the second.

Japan’s Mao Matsuyama, the overnight leader, was left to rue a run of three consecutive bogeys from the second hole en route to closing with a 75. He finished in third place on 220, one shot shy of joining the play-off but one stroke in front of Vietnam’s Le Khanh Hung, Thai Parin Sarasmut and Japan’s Kotaro Ogawa in equal fourth.

Ho Anh Huy, who played alongside Khanh Hung in the Vietnam team that won the Nomura Cup in 2024, ended seventh after signing off with a 76.

Hsieh is the second successive overseas winner of the boys’ title, following Singaporean Brayden Lee, who triumphed in 2025.

In the girls’ category, Motomura ensured Japan continued its domination, a home player emerging victorious for the fifth year in succession.

Underlining her status as one of Japan’s brightest golfing prospects, the smooth-swinging 15-year-old raced out of the starting blocks on Friday with a three-under 69 to set a blistering pace. From that point she dominated with a mature display of front-running.

She was the only player in the 75-strong field to better par on all three days. Over the 54 holes, she recorded just six bogeys which were offset by nine birdies and an eagle-two at the fifth hole on the opening day.

As the winner, Motomura receives an exemption into the 123rd Women’s Amateur Championship at Scotland’s Muirfield Golf Club in late June as well as next year’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Japan.

“I’m excited that this win will open doors for me to other big international tournaments,” said Motomura, who names Japanese professional Miyu Yamashita as her role model and favourite player.

Six shots back in second place at The Royal Club was Uno Neda while Korean Kim Yeoon-seo was the leading overseas player in joint third place with Japan’s Momoka Nakagoshi on 221.

Organised by Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings Inc and approved by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and The R&A, The Royal Junior is also supported by the Japan Golf Association, Japan High School and Junior High School Golf Association.

With the aim of nurturing and developing the next generation of international golfers, the tournament includes 37 boys and 38 girls. The top players outside of Japan are selected by the APGC. All players must be under the age of 18 years old as of March 31, 2026.