The young American Neal Shipley (-8) has been one of the best at taking advantage of the moving day in the prefecture of Miyazaki, the location in Japan where the Phoenix Country Club is situated, the venue this week for the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament of the Japan Golf Tour.
Shipley has delivered a very good card of 66 strokes, with four birdies and no bogeys, and has moved into second place, stalking the surprising leader Yosuke Tsukada (-10). Surprising due to his career trajectory. It won’t be an easy Sunday for him. He is 40 years old, ranked 925th in the world, has only won one tournament in his career, which was nine years ago, and in 2025 he hasn’t even tasted a top 10 finish in 22 events. No, it definitely won’t be an easy Sunday for him.
So far, his tournament has been impeccable. He has been at the top from start to finish and is one of the few who has played all three days under par. Courses and preparations like this week in Japan serve to comfort the most demanding golf enthusiasts. Rounds two and three under par are highly valuable. Needless to say, a five under is a rare bird.
Shipley will be a fierce opponent this Sunday. The young and lanky 24-year-old golfer has nothing to lose this week, playing with an invitation and coming off the best year of his career. He has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and has entered the PGA Tour in grand style. Much is expected of him and, so far, he is confirming it. It will be interesting to see what he is capable of this Sunday on an international stage and surrounded by players who will have the crowd’s favour.
Tied in second place with Shipley is the Korean Sang Hee Lee (-8), another who hasn’t tasted victory for a long time (eight years). Meanwhile, Mikumu Horikawa is fourth alone with -7. The leaderboard is quite spread out, with players in single file.
Regardless, the longest shadow the leaders see in their rear-view mirror is that of Hideki Matsuyama (-5). He seems a bit far, both in strokes (five from the lead) and position (with seven men ahead of him), but of course, it’s Matsuyama, the man who can make the most noise this Sunday on the course if birdies start falling early. He can’t be said to be the main favourite to win, but he is certainly a contender that cannot be ruled out.
A bad day for two other protagonists of this week in Japan. One is Nick Dunlap, a double winner on the PGA Tour who has fallen to 31st place with a round of 72 strokes. The other is, closer to home, Alex del Rey (+6). A day to forget. He has fallen to the bottom of the leaderboard after delivering a card of 74 strokes, with six bogeys and two birdies. He started on the 10th with a bogey, a bad sign of what was to come, although the worst sequence came much later, with three consecutive bogeys on holes 4, 5, and 6. At least, the final taste wasn’t entirely bitter, with a late birdie on the 7th.
One round remains to complete one of the most prestigious and storied events on the Japanese circuit, a tournament that Seve Ballesteros won twice (1977 and 1981), where he was runner-up three other times (1982, 1985, and 1991), and where Sergio García and Gonzalo Fernández Castaño also finished second two years (1999 and 2002 and 2007 and 2011).
