(18 April 2011 – Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan)
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A birdie at the first playoff hole saw Japanese legend Yuri Fudoh claim her 49th career title at the Nishijin Ladies Classic on Sunday. Fudoh finished on 5-under par total alongside compatriot Yukari Baba and Korea’s Ji-Woo Lee, who had to settle for a tie for runner-up honours.
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rnDue to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan early last month, four tournaments had been cancelled and this was the first tournament since the season-opening Daikin orchard in the first week of March.
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rnAs is usually the case on the Japanese Tour with three day tournaments, there was a packed leaderboard heading into the final round, as indeed there was for the remainder of the day. Fudoh began the final day in a share of the lead with Lee with another dozen players in contention, no more than four shots off the lead.
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rnFudoh got off to a fast start with three birdies in her first five holes and it looked like she may run away with it, however bogeys on the 7th and 9th holes brought her back to the field. Six-under at the turn left her one shot in front of Shinobu Morimizato and Ji-Hee Lee who had both moved to the 5-under mark. Both players would rue a missed opportunity playing the back-nine in 1-over par to miss the playoff by a shot.
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rnWhen Fudoh made double-bogey at the 10th hole, she was now in the position of having to play catch-up. She quickly hit back with a birdie at the 11th to rejoin the lead. Up ahead, Baba started her charge to the top of the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to reach 4-under par. Ji-Woo Lee was playing steady but not making any birdies to remain at 4-under.
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rnFudoh made another bogey at the 14th to slip to 4-under and at that stage it was Moromizato and Ji-Hee Lee in the lead. While this pair made bogeys on the way in, first Fudoh at the 16th, then Ji-Woo Lee at the 17th and finally Baba at the 18th all made the necessary birdie to reach 5-under and go back to the 18th. In the end, Fudoh played the 18th the best to capture yet another title with the 34-year old now just one win away from collecting 50 career titles.
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rnThe Australians in the field, Nikki Campbell and Tamie Durdin, had disappointing returns to competition, both missing the 36-hole cut.