Gotemba, Japan: Reo Maruo’s stunning rise in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) has continued on the back of an outstanding debut performance in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC).
Tied for seventh after 54 holes at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course, the 17-year-old Japanese student ended in sole possession of fourth spot following a brilliant closing 65.
Covering the final nine holes in five-under 30, not only was Maruo’s 65 the best round on the final day of the weather-hit event, but also the joint best round of the week.
Ultimately, only three players bettered Maruo’s 72-hole total of nine-under 271 – compatriot Rintaro Nakano (270) and the Chinese duo of Zhoi Ziqin (269) and champion Ding Wenyi (268).
Thanks to his late surge in Gotemba, Maruo soared 291 spots in the WAGR to 535th, making him the 10th highest ranked Japanese player in the standings.
Maruo sprang to prominence in the past two editions of The Royal Junior, part of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation’s (APGC) portfolio of events.
Having finished runner-up last year, Maruo went one better in April, posting a three-stroke victory that also earned him a place in the field for the Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin in Ireland.
He’s also been low amateur in two Japan Golf Tour events with top-40 finishes.
Among his compatriots who made big gains in the WAGR last week were Shu Fukuzumi (up 70 to 231st) and Shoon Kobayashi (up 60 to 195th).
Meanwhile, Masato Sumiuchi (up 33 to 86th) and Nakano (up 28 to 90th) have both progressed to the top-100 in the WAGR.
Top-10 finishes in the AAC also propelled New Zealand’s Cooper Moore, Malaysian Rizq Adam Rohizam and Koreans Cho Sung-yeap and An Seon-hyeong in the WAGR.
Behind Maruo, Rohizam was the biggest mover, climbing 181 places to 496th after ending in a share of eighth place alongside Moore (up 125 to 564th) and Cho (up 19 to 226th).
An, this year’s R&A Junior Boys’ winner and runner-up in the APGC Junior Boys’ Championship, rose 80 spots to 364th after claiming a share of fifth place in the AAC.
Also upwardly mobile were the Chinese duo of Zhou Ziqin and Ding Wenyi, the top-two finishers.
Zhou is up 33 places to 93rd while Ding has improved by two notches to third. With his win, 19-year-old Ding has secured starting sports at the Masters Tournament and Open Championship in 2025, assuming he maintain his amateur status.
Following his victory in Japan, Ding indicated that he’d likely turn pro next week in order to take advantage of the chance to claim playing rights on the DP World Tour via a Global Amateur Pathway.