This is turning into a golden era for the Land of the Rising Sun on the LPGA Tour.
Yuri Yoshida hit a pitching wedge from 48 yards to a back pin on an elevated green to 4 feet, a sublime shot that effectively secured her first LPGA Tour title at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
Yoshida became the fifth first-time winner on the LPGA this season, and the third from Japan. Her victory came a month after Yuna Nishimura won in Arkansas. And in August, Shiho Kuwaki captured her first major at the Women's British Open.
But it goes back further than this year. Japanese players have won five of the last 15 majors over the last three years, two more than players from South Korea and one player (Nelly Korda) from the United States — Yuka Saso (U.S. Women's Open), Mao Saigo (Chevron), Miyu Yamashita and Kuwaki (Women's British Open), and Ayaka Furue (Evian).
The last two years on the LPGA have seen nine different players from Japan winning official events.
South Korea, which has dominated the LPGA the last three decades, still has the depth with 14 players among the top 50 in the women's world ranking. Japan is next with 10 players.
Most of them get plenty of preparation on the Japan LPGA. Saigo and Yamashita each won five times in 2022. Yamashita won five more times on the JLPGA in 2023 and now is No. 4 in the world, the highest ranking among Japanese players. Kuwaki won three times on the JLPGA in 2024 and two years later became a major champion.
Along with her Women's British Open title at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Kuwaki won Sunday for her fourth JLPGA title of the year, the most of any player. Next is Shuri Sakuma with three wins. Sakuma won four times last year, and might be a name worth remembering.
A stellar back 9 saves a European tour card for Crocker
The words of Eddie Pepperell, always thoughtful and often funny in his blog posts, were dripping with appreciation and class after Sean Crocker’s amazing back nine in the Genesis Championship that wound up costing Pepperell a full European tour card by one spot.
Crocker was 3 over on the front nine when he ran off six birdies, closing with four in a row, for a 29 that moved him into a tie for 34th. He finished 100th on the Race to Dubai for full status.
Crocker, who has 4-month old son at home, was playing his 13th consecutive week in his ninth country. He was emotional thinking about his family and the grind.
“It’s not easy being a tour player, being away from your family, especially when you are on the bubble and obviously I’m not the only person, but the last thing you want to do is start a little family and get demoted or lose some of your playing rights,” he said.
Pepperell, the odd man out, was duly impressed.
“Sometimes I wish I could stand on a tee with such pressure at my feet, we should all wish for that at least once in our lives,” he wrote. “For it is in those moments when a person can truly experience what it is like to confront their fate. ...
“So for Sean I sincerely hope this is a moment which he can revel in for a little while, and he should because he just resembled an archetype we can all associate with, dream of, but for so many never genuinely realize — his antics in Korea were quite heroic.”
Crocker, the 30-year-old American born in Zimbabwe to a test cricketer, has one European tour victory in the 2022 Hero Open in Scotland. He finished one shot ahead of Pepperell.
Laura Frick creates her own slice of Ryder Cup history
Laura Frick is staying in Minnesota for another three years and making a little history along the way. She is the first female member of the PGA of America to be appointed the championship director for the Ryder Cup. The matches go to Hazeltine in 2029.
Frick, a Michigan native who graduated from the PGA Golf Management program at Ferris State in 2015, had been championship director for the KPMG Women's PGA at Hazeltine this year. Hazeltine is the first course in the United States to host the Ryder Cup twice.
“Laura’s experience at Hazeltine, event-management expertise and passion for the Ryder Cup will be instrumental as we work to deliver an exceptional Ryder Cup experience,” said David Charles, senior director of championships.
She is not the first woman to be Ryder Cup director, but the first who is a PGA of America member. Tara Guenther was the tournament director at Valhalla in 2008, and the late Kathy Boles Beard was Ryder Cup director at Kiawah Island in 1991.
Former TaylorMade CEO to LIV
LIV Golf is pressing on with its next version without Saudi money, hiring former TaylorMade CEO Mark King as a senior adviser.
King’s main role is providing expertise as LIV tries to complete a deal with BC Partners Credit for LIV 2.0. He is expected to recruit, build and serve as chairman of LIV Golf’s advisory board.
“Having spent much of my career in golf, I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for LIV Golf to establish itself as a competitive and enduring force in the game,” King said. “Competition drives innovation, creates opportunities, and ultimately makes the entire ecosystem stronger.”
The time Jim Furyk felt he choked in the Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will be spending most of his time in the broadcast booth for Golf Channel next year. He believes he can call it as he sees it, even at the risk of offending players who might be on his team at Adare Manor next year.
That led to a discussion on Johnny Miller and his use of the word “choke,” and before long the question was posed to Furyk if he ever choked.
“I can remember one shot that comes to mind — a match at the Ryder Cup,” he said.
It was a Friday afternoon foursomes match with Tiger Woods as his partner. They were 1 down to Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, needing to win the par-5 18th at The K Club for a halve.
“It was a right-to-left wind. I was trying to hit a shot at the right-center of the green and hold it with a hybrid,” Furyk said. “I got it on the toe, turned it over, got into the water. At that moment, it’s a shot you can’t hit.”
Was it a choke or simply poor execution? Furyk didn’t take long to answer.
“I don’t think I hit that shot on Tuesday. How’s that?” he said.
Divots
Austin Smotherman (Utah and Bermuda) is the third player in the last 30 years to get his first two PGA Tour victories in consecutive starts. Camilo Villegas in 2008 won the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, and David Duval in 1997 won at Kingsmill and Disney. ... Eliot Baker of England, part of GB&I's winning Walker Cup team, has turned pro after leading the European tour's Global Amateur Pathway Ranking to earn a tour card for 2027. ... Steven Alker earned a $200,000 bonus for the “Sprint to St. Louis.” He was the top finisher at the Stifel Classic among three players who earned the most Schwab Cup points over the last five regular-season events.
Stat of the week
Austin Smotherman is the first player to go from two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour to two wins on the PGA Tour in back-to-back years.
Final word
“So I play golf not smiling. But off the course, I’m always smiling. So if you can follow my Instagram, I’m really so happy.” — Yuri Yoshida of Japan after winning her first LPGA Tour title at the BMW Ladies Championship.
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