The 2009 UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship will again welcome Japan’s premier players this year, as the best of the nation’s golfers aim to lift one of the most sought-after titles in the game.

When the very best players from the Japan Golf Tour gather at the Shishido Hills Country Club later this year, they will all once again have their eye on one of the most prestigious titles in the game – the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship.

This year’s event will take place from June 4-7 amongst the forests of Ibaraki Prefecture, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.

Last summer, Hidemasa Hoshino posted the biggest win of his career after completely dominating the final day of action. Opening the last round with a three-stroke lead, the 30-year-old posted birdies at the second and fifth holes to open an insurmountable lead and crush the challenge of the chasing pack.

Said Hoshino: “What I have been concentrating on is how to keep my body in top condition and not to get as tired, which you need on a tough course like this. For these kind of ‘major’ tournaments you really need to be good at everything – driving, second shots and playing fades and draws – and I was.

“This is also the first time I have won with my parents watching. I think I have given them a great present!” said the champion.

The 2009 tournament, the fourth consecutive year that UBS has title-sponsored the event, promises more of the same excitement. With Hoshino returning, along with 2007 champion Shingo Katayama and dual winner Toshimitsu Izawa to name just a few, the event will also feature the participation of young superstar Ryo Ishikawa to excite the fans.

Known as Hanikami Oji, or the ‘Bashful Prince’, Ishikawa, the youngest winner in Japan Golf Tour history, made his name when he won the KSB Munsingwear Open as a senior high school student in 2007. He recently captured the attention of the international golfing world when making his US PGA Tour debut in advance of being one of the youngest players in history to play at the US Masters in April.

That spectator interest, combined with the tournament’s traditionally impressive spectator numbers and television ratings, should once again ensure the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship offers an outstanding platform for UBS.