Shigeki Maruyama
Name:
Shigeki MaruyamaAlso known as:
Smiling assassinCountry:
JapanBorn:
Sept 12, 1969 in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan.Original/Home Club:
Occupation:
Professional golferTurned Pro:
1992Presidents Cup player (1998, 2000). Multiple wins on the Japan and PGA Tours.
Maruyama, sometimes called the "smiling assassin" due to his ever-present smile on the golf course, is one of the best Japanese golfers of the modern era. He recorded victories on the PGA Tour in three consecutive years (2001, '02 & '03), but now plays mainly on the Japan Tour.
Japan
Japan Tobacco
Played as the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup (Dec 3-6; Japanese major ch'ship and season-ending event). Maruyama (Jpn) beat Kyung-tae "K.T." Kim (S Kor) with a par at the fourth playoff hole (par-3 18th), to claim his 10th and last Japan Tour win. [Tokyo Yomiuri CC, Inagi, nr Tokyo, Japan].
America
Chrysler
Played as the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro (Oct 16-19). Second-placed Brad Faxon (USA) finished 5 strokes behind Maruyama (Jpn), who recorded the last of his three PGA Tour wins. [Forest Oaks CC, Greensboro, NC].
America
Verizon
Played as the Verizon Byron Nelson Classic (May 9-12). Second-placed Ben Crane (USA) finished 2 shots behind Maruyama (Japan), who won his second PGA Tour title. [TPC course, Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, Irving, nr Dallas, TX. Early rounds also on the Cottonwood Valley course].
America
x
Played as the Greater Milwaukee Open (July 12-15). 31-year-old Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) beat Charles Howell III (USA) with a birdie at the first playoff hole, to record the first of his three PGA Tour wins. [Brown Deer Park GC, Brown Deer, nr Milwaukee, Wisc.].
Japan
Bridgestone
Played as the Bridgestone Open (Oct 21-24; Japan Tr event). Second-placed Toshimitsu Izawa (Jpn) finished 5 shots behind Maruyama (Jpn), who this event for the third time in five years. [Sodegaura course, Sodegaura CC, Chiba, Jpn].
Japan
Hitachi
Played as the Golf Nippon Series Hitachi Cup (Dec 4-7; Japanese major ch'ship). Second-placed Tateo "Jet" Ozaki (Jpn) finished 2 shots behind Maruyama (Jpn). [Tokyo Yomiuri CC, Inagi, nr Tokyo, Japan].
Japan
PGA of Japan
Played as the Japan PGA Championship (May 15-18; Japanese major ch'ship). Second-placed Shusaku Sugimoto (Jpn) finished 2 shots behind Maruyama (Jpn), who won his first Japanese "major". [West course, Central GC, Namegata, Ibaraki].
Japan
Bridgestone
Played as the Bridgestone Open (Oct 17-20; Japan Tr event). Second-placed Brian Watts (Can/USA) finished 2 shots behind defending champion Maruyama (Jpn). [Sodegaura course, Sodegaura CC, Chiba, Jpn].
Japan
Bridgestone
Played as the Bridgestone Open (Oct 19-22; Japan Tr event). Second-placed Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki (Jpn), Mark Calcavecchia (USA) and Shinichi Yokota (Jpn) finished 3 shots behind Maruyama (Jpn), who claimed his second Japan Tour win. [Sodegaura course, Sodegaura CC, Chiba, Jpn].
Japan
Pepsi
Played as the Pepsi Ube Kosan Open (May 20-23). Second-placed Todd Hamilton (USA) finished 2 shots behind first-time Japan Tour winner Maruyama (Jpn). [Ube 72 CC, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan].
Tournaments:
PGA Championship: the year’s second men’s major championship is hosted by Southern Hills CC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, amidst doubt as to whether reigning champion Phil Mickelson will defend his title (May 19-22).
Soudal Open: Belgium’s return to European Tour golf sees 36-hole Rinkven International GC host the Soudal Open, the country’s national open championship (May 12-15).
Who's Who:
Scottie Scheffler: bags the 2022 Masters Tournament title, and with it a fourth win in six starts on the PGA Tour and his first major championship victory.
Stephen Dodd: took the European Senior Tour’s 2021 Order of Merit honours following the abandonment due to rain of the season’s final event, the MCB Tour Championship – Mauritius (April 1-3, 2022).
Golf World Top 100: Best Golf Courses in Europe. From France to Spain to the Netherlands and Norway, the Golf World Top 100 panel reveals the places you have to play (published 20 October 2021).
New 27-hole golf complex to be built in southern Belgium
A new golf complex in southern Belgium, close to the border with Luxembourg, will start construction in June 2021.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club "makes its tournament debut with the hosting of the Italian Open on the European Tour" by Richard Humphreys
Gamble Sands opens short course:
David McLay Kidd’s 14-hole QuickSands short course has opened for play at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Washington.
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