PRINCETON, N.J., May 19 (UPI) -- Isao Aoki on Sunday became the third Asian golfer in as many weeks to win in the United States, claiming his first Senior PGA Tour title in four years at the Instinet Classic.
Aoki pulled away from the field with a final-round 7-under-par 65 and finished the 54-hole event at 15-under 201, four shots ahead of John Jacobs and six better than Allen Doyle and Mike Hill.
A 59-year-old native of Japan, Aoki earned his ninth Senior Tour title, 19 years after he became the first Asian winner in PGA Tour history at the Hawaiian Open.
In the previous two weeks, Shigeki Maruyama of Japan won the Byron Nelson Classic and K.J. Choi claimed the Compaq Classic on the PGA Tour. They are the only other Asian players to earn PGA titles.
Aoki played bogey-free Sunday at the TPC at Jasna Polana to jump from a tie for ninth to the top of the leaderboard. He earned his first win since the 1998 BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland and the $225,000 top prize.
