Shingo bells, Shingo bells...

Shingo Katayama became only the third Japanese professional to win the 27th annual Dunlop Phoenix Tournament by holding off a late charge by American Bob May and capture the 40,000,000 yen first prize.

Shingo Katayama: PIC:Dai Yamada

Katayama shot a 72 hole total of 19-under par to set the tournament scoring record and join fellow countrymen Tommy Nakajima and Jumbo Ozaki as the only Japanese pros to win this prestigious event. May finished with his second consecutive 66 to finish at 15 under and also broke the old scoring mark of 270 by last year's winner Thomas Bjorn and Sergio Garcia.

Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland finished alone in fourth place at 12 under par. Scot Andrew Coltart finished in a tie for 5th at nine under par with England's Ed Fryatt another stroke back in 7th place.

"I played well today but just came up a little short," said May who marked his 26th 2nd place finish as a pro. "Its tough when you start that far behind." "I'm happy with my week," continued the Las Vegas, Nevada resident.
"Katayama is a solid player. My only real sniff of a chance today was at 12 but he knocked in about a 25 footer for par and that was it. He also made a big bogey putt at 10 that kept us from getting back into it."

Bob May: No luck this week. PIC: Dai Yamada

Clarke shot a back nine 31 but was not happy after the round. "Every time I hit a bad shot today I was either stuck behind a tree or I hit a tree and ended up deeper in the woods," lamented the World Match Play champion. "I played OK but never really made any putts."

"I though I had something going with two birdies early," said Fryatt. "But then I hit one out of bounds at the par five 7th hole and chunked a wedge at eight for another bogey." "I did make a couple of nice par putts at 15 and 16. To come over here and finish 7th isn't too bad," said Fryatt who lives nearby May in Las Vegas.