BEAUMONT, Calif. -- Massy Kuramoto (Hiroshima, Japan) fired a 2-under-par 70 on Monday to claim medalist honors at the 2005 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club. Kuramoto finished with a 108-hole total of 3-under-par 429 and earned $45,000 for his victory.

The 50-year-old Kuramoto started the day tied for the lead with Scott Masingill (Payette, Idaho) at 1-under par, but quickly moved atop the leaderboard with an eagle-birdie start on holes Nos. 4 and 5. He managed to stay out of trouble the rest of the way despite the gusty winds which were again a factor with speeds reaching 20-25 mph at times. Kuramoto punctuated his finish with a birdie at No. 18 and a two-stroke margin.

Kirk Hanefeld (Acton, Mass.) finished second, while Joe Ozaki (Tokyo, Japan) was third. There was a three-way tie for fourth place with Keith Fergus (Sugar Land, Texas), Bill Longmuir (Berkshire, England) and Masingill. The seventh and final fully-exempt position went to Rick Karbowski (Worcester, Mass.).

This marked the second time Kuramoto has been a medalist at a National Qualifying Tournament. In 1992, he was the medalist at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament and played on the PGA TOUR in 1993.

“It was a long six days and I am very tired,” said Kuramoto, a winner of 30 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour. “I wanted to keep the ball low today and just play one shot at a time. I just tried to make par on every hole today but the wind was very difficult. It feels good to finish. I am very happy.”

A total of eight players earned conditional exemptions for 2006.

Jack Ferenz (Vero Beach, Fla.) grabbed the eighth spot in a playoff with Chris Starkjohann when he made a par on the first playoff hole. Danny Edwards made birdie on the first playoff hole to finish 10th, while Jim Chancey was 11th after a par on the fourth playoff hole. Former major league star Rick Rhoden, who played for the Dodgers, Yankees, Pirates and Astros, was 12th and Katsuyoshi Tomori (Fukuoka, Japan) was 13th. Mike San Filippo (Hobe Sound, Fla.) finished 14th and Eduardo Romero (Cordoba, Argentina) earned the 15th and final spot.