(17 August 2009 – Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan)
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Japan&aposs Chie Arimura continued her rich vein of form with a wire-to-wire win at the NEC Karuizawa 72 Golf Tournament. She finished the tournament at 10-under par total 206 to wrap up the victory by two shots from compatriot Shinobu Moromizato with Korean Mi-Jeong Jeon a further stroke back in third.
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rnAfter opening rounds of 66 and 71, Arimura held a one-shot lead over Yuko Mitsuka with Jeon two strokes back in third. Mitsuka joined Arimura in the lead after a birdie at the second before taking the outright lead when Arimura made bogey at the fifth. Jeon had made a bright start with a birdie at the third but fell out of contention with three bogeys in four holes from the 5th. She fought back admirably with four birdies from the 9th to finish with a 2-under par 70 and third place.
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rnMitsuka’s lead was short-lived as Arimura made a string of 4 birdies from the 8th hole to go one in front. From there she was unflappable with seven straight pars to finish, while Mitsuka dropped three shots on the last two holes to fall back to fourth. The round of the day was from Moromizato who fired three birdies on each nine for a bogey-free 6-under par 66 to finish outright second. This was enough to move her in front of Sakura Yokomine to lead the Money List.
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rnIt was Arimura’s tournament however, her third victory for the season, moving her to third on the Money List. Her last three tournaments have yielded a win at the Stanley Ladies, losing in a playoff to Momoka Ueda last week at the AXA Ladies and this win. Apart from her three titles, Arimura also has three runner-up finishes and a further five Top-10’s in a groundbreaking season for the 21-year old.
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rnCanberra’s Nikki Campbell posted her fourth Top-20 result in her last four events finishing in a tie for 16th after rounds of 73, 72 and 71. Tied 7th, tied 4th, tied 12th and tied 16th in those tournaments have seen her rise to 23rd on the Money List. Tamie Durdin made the cut but finished well back, in a tie for 39th. She remains at 13th on the Money List after an impressive first half of the year which included victory at the Fujisankei Ladies Classic.