Let the sweet sound of Srixon echo through the summer sky! ~ Men's Professional Golf Tour Returns to Fukushima Prefecture After 16 Years ~

The men's professional golf tour event, the "Dunlop Srixon Fukushima Open," will be held over four days from July 31 to August 3 at the Grandy Nasu Shirakawa Golf Club in Fukushima Prefecture. This year marks the tournament's debut as a Tour event, following 19 years as the "Fukushima Open Golf" hosted by Dunlop Sports, Fukushima Central Television, and the Japan Golf Tour Organization. It is the first men's tour event in the prefecture in 16 years and the first in the entire Tohoku region in seven years since the 2007 "JCB Classic." Furthermore, this tournament is currently the only new event on the 2014 men's tour schedule.

Revitalizing Fukushima through golf.
On the day before the tournament, buzzing with excitement over preparations for this new event, we spoke with tournament officials and participating players at the venue.

 

"We agonized a bit over how to express our support for reconstruction," said Toshiya Adachi, PR Director at Dunlop Sports, one of the organizers. "After listening to Fukushima Central Television and local residents, we realized that simply holding this tournament itself is the best expression of support."

The company has outlined three main objectives for this tournament. First, revitalizing golf across Japan. To achieve this, the company is promoting an internal project called "+G (Plus! Golf Project)", within which this tournament is positioned. Second, coexisting with and revitalizing regions by holding tournaments in areas where tour events are not typically held. Fukushima was chosen from several candidate regions for this event. Third, to implement a new type of tour tournament with streamlined overall project costs. Using this tournament as a model case, the company aims to stimulate the entry of sponsors from new fields and revitalize tournaments as a whole.

  During his practice round in preparation for the main event starting the next day, Yuta Ikeda, the tournament chairman, stated, "This is the first tour tournament in the entire Tohoku region in seven years. I spent my student days in Sendai and have a special connection to Tohoku, so I'm delighted about this tournament." He added, "More than three years have passed since the earthquake, and there's a risk it might be forgotten. I think it's meaningful that the eyes of the nation are once again focused here in this way." After brilliantly landing a bunker shot right next to the pin, he added a powerful statement for the tournament: "I'm a summer guy, you know. It's about time I got going!"

 

It seems the greatest power to energize Fukushima and Tohoku will come from tournament officials and participating players each giving their best at their respective posts to make the event a success.

The Dunlop Srixon Fukushima Open will be broadcast on CS Nippon TV G+ from August 1st to 3rd. Additionally, the final rounds on August 2nd and 3rd are scheduled to air on FCT Fukushima Central Television, CS Nippon TV G+, and Nippon TV NEWS24. During the tournament period, a free shuttle bus will operate from Tohoku Shinkansen Shin-Shirakawa Station to the venue.