(Rifu, Miyagi Pref., Japan)
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Japan&aposs World No.16 Momoko Ueda has secured victory at the Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open after a late collapse by compatriot Sakura Yokomine. Ueda finished on 5-under par total 211, one shot ahead of the trio of Akane Iijima, Yuko Mitsuka and Julie Lu.
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Ueda trailed Yokomine, the overnight leader, by three shots heading into the final round but quickly drew level with four birdies and one bogey on the front nine. She mixed two more each on the back nine to finish at 5-under, a total that Yokomine was hovering around until three bogeys in the final four holes put paid to her challenge. It was Ueda’s second title of the year on the LPGA of Japan where she has divided her time with the LPGA. Afterwards, she said, “This win is a big plus for me ahead of next week’s Japan Women’s Open, which is one of the tournaments I really want to win.”
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Nikki Campbell was the best of the Australians in this event, finishing at 1-over par total 217. She would be ruing her second round performance, after slipping from the lead to a tie for 22nd with a round of 6-over par 78. Her strong finishing round of 2-under par 70 saw her move up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 12th. Tamie Durdin finished in a tie for 48th at 9-over par total 225. This week sees the third Japanese ‘Major’ being played with the Japan Women’s Open likely to see the strongest field of the year line up for the ¥140,000,000 (approx. AU$1.59million) purse.
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