Golf-Japanese tour tightens security after explosion

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Japanese men's golf tour has beefed up security after a minor explosion shattered windows at the venue clubhouse for next week's Casio World Open.

The JGTA Tour said on Thursday it had deployed round-the-clock security at Kochi's Kuroshio Country Club after the incident earlier this week. Nobody was hurt in the blast.

"There was a small explosion. It appears that a device of some description was deliberately left in the lobby by someone," the JGTO's Chieko Hataguchi told Reuters.

"As a result we've put in 24-hour security. We are investigating the scene and security has been tightened. We are also examining what extra safety measures to take."

Two panes of glass were smashed in the explosion at the entrance to the clubhouse on Tuesday. Local police were treating the incident as vandalism.

Japanese teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa, among the top players in the field for the Nov. 27-30 tournament on the island of Shikoku, told reporters: "It's worrying."

The JGTO has not ruled out the option of conducting bag checks on spectators at the Casio World Open.

"Some 10,000 fans wil be walking along this course," JGTO senior director Hiroshi Yamanaka told Japanese media. "We must think of all the correct options."

In 1999, bullets were fired at hotel near the same golf course while Japanese professional baseball team the Hanshin Tigers were holding a training camp. (Reporting by Alastair Himmer; Editing by Peter Rutherford)