Not one player finished under par for the 72 holes, American Chan Kim claiming the fourth Japan Golf Tour title of his career courtesy of a final round of 4-under 67 to end the week at 1-over, one shot clear of Shaun Norris and Mikumu Horikawa.

Scott was one of three Australians to finish tied for fifth three shots shy of the winner along with Brad Kennedy and Brendan Jones but no one inside the top 10 came from further back than Scott.

A 5-over par round of 76 to begin the tournament put Scott in danger of missing the cut but he bounced back in impressive fashion with a 2-under 69 to enter the weekend entrenched inside the top 20.

Three bogeys and no birdies saw Scott drop back into a tie for 21st heading into the final round where he made a major impression, picking up six birdies to go with four bogeys and a round of 2-under 69, the fourth-best score of the final round.

Playing in his 14th Japan Open championship, 15-time Japan Golf Tour winner Brendan Jones was under no illusions about the challenge that would face the field.

Tied for third at Koga Golf Club 11 years ago, Jones sat atop the leaderboard through 18 holes after a superb opening round of 3-under 68 that featured just 26 putts.

He was never worse than a tie for ninth for the entire week as he utilised stellar iron play (sixth in Greens in Regulation) to log yet another top-five finish.

Kennedy’s top-five finish was one of typical consistency, improving his position with every round. Tied for 28th at the halfway mark, Kennedy needed just 28 putts on both Saturday and Sunday to play the final two rounds in 1-under par and join Scott and Jones inside the top five.

Adelaide amateur Jack Thompson underlined his potential with an impressive tie for 23rd with Victorian Matthew Griffin a further shot back in a tie for 29th.

Japan Open Championship
Koga Golf Club, Fukuoka
T5           Brad Kennedy     74-73-70-71—288            ¥6,510,000
T5           Adam Scott         76-69-74-69—288            ¥6,510,000
T5           Brendan Jones    68-75-73-72—288            ¥6,510,000
T23        Jack Thompson  76-73-72-72—293            ———
T29        Matthew Griffin 74-74-75-71—294            ¥1,512,000
T51        Denzel Ieremia   73-74-73-80—300            ¥1,060,500
MC         Adam Bland        75-76—151
MC         David Bransdon  82-82—164