On October 24, 2012, The 52nd "Kyokuyo Open" golf tournament was held at the famous "Shimonoseki Golf Club", a course with over 50 years of history - like Kyokuyo Open! This annual event is organized by our company to invite our valued customers, suppliers, contractors and other stake holders.

Under clear and sunny sky, which would leave no room for excuse, a total of 118 motivated players, in 30 groups, challenged the difficult course this year. Contrary to usual practice in Japan, they were even not allowed to have lunch break after 9 holes in order to optimize the whole process - something similar to what we are doing in ship manufacturing(?)

The award presenter this year was Norihiko Harada, who had also taken over the role of captain on the organization team. His talk, with his trademarked genuine Osaka accent, warmed up the ceremony very well.

And the result. The 2012 winner was... Mr. Takenaka of Taiyo Electric! The best player of the tournament said that by taking 10 at a hole in the morning, he failed to get the best gross prize, which was his real target. In his speech, Mr. Takenaka boldly declared his ambition to win it next year! The best prize went to first-time participant Mr. Matsuba of Mansei, who scored an impressive '36' for the back side.

At the end of the event, Katsuhiko Ochi, president of Kyokuyo, made a speech as usual. The top executive firstly expressed his gratitude to the company's stake holders for their continuous support, thanks to which Kyokuyo celebrated its 70th anniversary. After explaining the current situation in and surrounding the company, the president did not forget to ask the guests for extra bit of support to ride out the stormy economical environment.

The next Kyokuyo Open is scheduled in October 2013. What? You are ready to fight against Mr. Takenaka or Mr. Matsuba? Okay, see you at the same Shimonoseki Golf Club!

[2012/10/16]