(!9 September 2011 – Mihama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan)
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23-year-old Mayu Hattori from Japan claimed her third career victory at the Munsingwear Ladies Tokai Classic on Sunday. A bogey-free final round of 3-under par 69 saw her finish at 10-under par; two shots better than Kumiko Kaneda with Soo-Yun Kang and Sakura Yokomine a further shot back in a tie for third.
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rnShiho Oyama began the final round one shot ahead of Hattori and both players got off to good starts with birdies at the 2nd hole. However, Oyama imploded in the middle of the front nine with back-to-back bogeys at the 4th and 5th holes, which she matched at the 11th and 12th holes and by that time she was four shots off the pace. Further bogeys on the way in saw her finish in a tie for 8th at 4-under par.
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rnMeanwhile, Hattori played solidly without the threat of her nearest competitor at the start of the day. However, Kaneda made a run early in the last round with 4 birdies in six holes from the 2nd hole leaving her just one behind Hattori. Her run ended when she started trading birdies with bogeys from the 10th hole and she couldn’t find the consistency to match Hattori and had to settle for second after three birdies and three bogeys on the back nine.
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rnHattori stayed solid throughout, picking up birdies at the 11th and 15th holes to reach the 10-under par mark. In her 5th year as a professional, Hattori moved up to 7th, her highest ever position on the money list. Her latest victory adds to the titles she won in 2008 and 2010. She has had a consistent season and knocking on the door all year for a win. Before this week she had seven Top-10 finishes and only missed the cut once at the season opener.
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rnNikki Campbell posted her third Top-10 for the year finishing in a tie for 8th at 4-under par. She climbed into the Top-40 on the Money List, sitting 39th with ¥14,027,500 in season earnings (approx. AUD$177,000). Tamie Durdin didn’t find her range throughout the tournament, finishing at 1-over par in a tie for 38th. She currently walks the tightrope of the Top-50, sitting in 52nd with ¥8,754,857 in season earnings (approx. AUD$110,000).