Kennedy into British Open with maiden-victory in Japan
Australian Brad Kennedy has earned himself another shot at The Open Championship courtesy of his maiden victory on the Japan Tour.
While most of the attention this week will be focused on the victory by Marc Leishman on the PGA Tour (and to a lesser extent Marcus Fraser on the European Tour), there was one other fine performance by an Australian golfer on the Japan tour.
Brad Kennedy won the Mizuno Open yesterday, that not only notched up his first on the Japan Tour but it earned himself a spot in The Open Championship field at Royal Lytham next month.
Heading into the final round, Kennedy was tied for the lead but managed to break away form the field with two birdies in his opening two holes and found himself with a three shot cushion early into the back nine. With two players already in the clubhouse at 14-under, Kennedy all but sealed the victory with a birdie on the 15th hole.
Kennedy had no troubles keeping his card after his first year on the Japan Tour, one that he acknowledged suits his game and his family commitments perfectly. At 38 years, Kennedy looks to be finally seeing some reward for his years of hard work and the New Zealand Open victory at the end of last year seemed to confirm he was on track for more success.
Kennedy spoke to Aussie Golfer in the lead up to last year’s Open Championship where he earned a spot in the field courtesy of a second place finish at the Canon Open. He went on to miss the cut at Royal St.George’s, but with that experience under his belt and a tournament victory right behind him, Kennedy will be expecting a better result this year.
