For the second time in three years only 36 holes could be completed at Sodegaura Country Club in the Chiba Prefecture due to a typhoon, Shugo Imahira declared the winner on Saturday afternoon when tournament officials confirmed the cancellation of the final round.

Although the impact of the typhoon on the affected areas and the safety of players and spectators was of primary concern, the cancellation of the final two rounds was disappointing for the Aussie contingent who were positioned to contend over the weekend.

The top three finishers of the Bridgestone Open are exempt into next week’s ZOZO Championship, the first PGA TOUR event to be played in Japan with $US9.75 million in prizemoney. On the back of a second round of 5-under 66 Kennedy was just three shots off the lead held by Imahira but was denied the chance to progress further up the leaderboard.

An eagle on the par-5 18th hole in the opening round saw Kennedy go into round two in a tie for 10th and he was blemish-free on Friday, a run of three straight birdies contributing to a front nine of 31 where he needed just 11 putts.

Kennedy wasn’t the only Australasian player disappointed by the premature end to the tournament.

One shot back of Kennedy in a tie for 12th was Aussie trio Brendan Jones, Adam Bland and David Bransdon along with Kiwi Michael Hendry while Victorian Matthew Griffin was a further shot back in a tie for 21st.

Jones made the greatest move from the first round to the second, climbing from a tie for 48th to 12th courtesy of five birdies and a chip-in eagle at the par-5 16th in a 7-under 64.