TRAVIS Smyth’s dream run continued on Sunday, April 5, 2026 (PH time), when he made an eagle putt on the par-five 18th to sensationally win the International Series Japan by one.
In a riveting finish, he drained a 20-footer to narrowly avoid a play-off with Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Ryosuke Kinoshita from Japan – at Caledonian Golf Club, near Tokyo.
The Australian’s brilliant final putt saw him shoot a seven-under-par 64 to move to 15-under, with Pavit and Kinoshita both in the clubhouse on 14-under.
Pavit and Kinoshita had earlier turned the tournament on its head by shooting scintillating rounds of 62 and 63 respectively to come through from much further back. The former was in the 10th from last group and Kinoshita the sixth.
Korea’s Hongtaek Kim and Shugo Imahira from Japan had started the day sharing the lead but were unable to keep up with the fast pace being set. Kim shot a 69 to tie for fifth while Imahira returned a 70 for equal seventh.
This week’s $2million event is the opening event of the season on The International Series, and it is Smyth’s first success on the Series – the upper-tier level of events on the Asian Tour that provide a pathway to the LIV Golf League, via The International Series Rankings.
It’s also his second victory on the Asian Tour, having won the Yeangder TPC in 2022, and comes during a remarkable run of form.
He claimed the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship last month which put him on course to win the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit for the 2025/26 season.
Austen Truslow finished in fourth on his own, two behind the champion. He closed with a 65, helped by an unlikely and adventurous eagle on the par-four 16th.
The Asian Tour heads to the Singapore Open next at the Sentosa Golf Club on April 23 to 26 and is also part of the International Series. / RSC from PR