Nobuhito Sato withstood a shaky back nine and a thunderstorm that suspended play Sunday to win his first major on the Japanese tour with a one-shot victory at the Japan PGA Championship.
Sato, who began the day one shot off the pace, took the lead from overnight leader Satoshi Higashi early on and hung on to claim his third career victory with a final-round 72 and a 4-under 280 total at the Caledonian Golf Club in Chiba Prefecture.
The 30-year-old Sato, whose wobbly game after the turn allowed Higashi and Shigemasa Higaki to come within one shot down the stretch, earned the winner's check of 22 million yen out of a 110 million yen purse and a five-year exemption on the Japanese tour.
Higashi's attempt for a wire-to-wire win and his first tour title in five years was already put in jeopardy early with a 39 on the front nine and it proved too late for him to regain his composure as he birdied two of the final three holes for a 3-over 74.