American Dean Wilson birdied two of the final four holes on his way to a 5-under par 67 Sunday and snared a hard-fought one-stroke victory at the 100 million yen Mizuno Open golf tournament.
Overnight leader Wilson carded seven birdies against two bogeys at the Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama Prefecture to hold off young challenger Kiyoshi Miyazato and win with an 11-under total of 277.
Wilson, who ran in a 20-footer for birdie on the 17th hole to take a two-stroke advantage over Miyazato with only one hole remaining, earned 20 million yen for his second tour title this season after winning the Tsuruya Open in April.
"I really enjoyed every aspect of this course and I'm very happy that I could win here," said Wilson.
"I didn't expect to win until I got to the 18th hole. The first putt was from about 30 feet and I knew I had won on the second putt from about six or seven feet out," the Hawaii native added.
Miyazato matched Wilson's 67 with a bogey-free final round, but was left a stroke shy with a 10-under 278. He pocketed 10 million yen for the biggest payday of his two-year career.
Toru Taniguchi, the winner of last week's Yomiuri Open, could only muster a 71 under rainy conditions to finish in a tie for third with Hajime Meshiai at 6-under 282.
Meanwhile, Toshimitsu Izawa climbed out of 20th from a day earlier with a 70 to finish in a tie for 10th at 3-under, while Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki finished with a lackluster 5-over for 51st place.
Five golfers, including runnerup Miyazato, money rankings leader Taniguchi, Japan PGA Championship winner Kenichi Kuboya, Tsuneyuki Nakajima and Toru Suzuki also qualified for the British Open.