Mikiya Akutsu

Mikiya Akutsu punched his ticket to Royal Portrush with an emphatic four-stroke victory at the recent Mizuno Open, part of the Open Qualifying Series.

A decade after making his Japan Tour debut, the 30-year-old finally achieved his first win on the circuit from a world ranking of 573rd. This came a year on from the disappointment of missing out on Royal Troon at the same event.

He held the joint lead after an opening 64, and was tied for third at halfway, but slipped back to 13th over the weekend.

Akutsu returned to the tournament having missed the halfway cut on his three previous starts and eight months on from his last top 10 finish, but broke par in each of the four rounds.

The closest he had come before to breaking through was last August’s Yokohama Minato Championship Fujiki Centennial, where Ren Yonezawa pushed him into second spot.