Last season's tour champion Toshimitsu Izawa crashed out of the Japan PGA Matchplay Championship in the second round Friday after a 5-and-4 loss to Hirofumi Miyase.
On a miserable day for the tournament organizers, defending champion Dean Wilson of the United States and Toru Taniguchi also bowed out as the top three seeds all failed to reach the quarterfinals.
Izawa has struggled to match his record-breaking feats of last season when he won five tournaments on his way to the overall title and the hopes of his first victory this year went south early as Miyase took the opening three holes.
Despite reducing the deficit with a birdie on the par-4 sixth, Izawa soon went further behind and Miyase holed his sixth birdie of the day to seal the match on the 14th green.
"When I first went 3-up today, I kept wondering how he would come back at me," Miyase said.
Yoneyama takes lead
KAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi Pref. (Kyodo) Midori Yoneyama shot a 4-under-par 67 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Fujisankei Ladies Classic.
Yoneyama, who has won four tour titles in her four-year career, put together six birdies against two bogeys as she held steady from tee to green in constant rain at the Fujizakura Country Club.