(2 November 2009 – Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, Japan)
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After an enthralling final day, Korea’s Mi-Jeong Jeon came out on top to win the Higuchi Hisako IDC Otsuka Ladies in Hanno on Sunday. On her 27th birthday, Jeon posted a bogey-free final round of 5-under par 67 to overtake the Japanese duo of Michie Ohba and Chie Arimura and win by a shot.
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rnJeon started the final round two shots behind overnight leader, Arimura, but made her charge late on the front nine with four birdies in five holes from the 5th. This moved her to 12-under par and tied for the lead at the turn with Ohba, who had also gone bogey free around the front nine, picking up birdies at the 2nd, 3rd and 6th holes. Arimura posted a birdie and a bogey to remain at 10-under par. Mayu Hattori had also made it to 10-under but dropped three shots in two holes after the turn to fall from contention and eventually finish tied for 4th.
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rnJeon moved into the lead with a birdie at the 13th hole to move to 13-under and was joined on that number by Arimura after she made a charge with birdies at the 10th, 13th and 14th holes. Ohba couldn’t make any more birdies, posting 12 straight pars to finish her round and remain on 12-under. With two holes left to play, Jeon and Arimura were tied however Arimura made bogey at 17 and they both parred the last for the Korean to notch her fourth victory of another lucrative season. Celebrating both her win and her birthday she said, “It was really tight until the end. All the support I got from the fans helped make it a nice birthday for me.”
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rnRolex Ranked World No.25, Jeon has finished in the Top-10 18 times this season, including her four titles, four runner-up finishes and two 3rds. This was her 13th career title and she moved up to 3rd on the Official Money List with season earnings of ¥119,280,766 (approx. AUD$1.47million). She trails Shinobu Moromizato ¥152,087,200 (approx. AUD$1.88million) and Sakura Yokomine ¥131,320,632 (approx. AUD$1.62million).
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rnTamie Durdin continued a strong season, posting her 8th Top-20 finish with a tie for 14th. After looking to make a charge on the final day, Durdin was undone by a stretch of 3 bogies in four holes on the front nine. She remains in 21st place on the Official Money List with season earnings of ¥32,771,600 (approx. AUD$404,708.00). Nikki Campbell had a disastrous final day, recording a quadruple bogey, followed by a double on the back nine to finish with a final round of 8-over par 80 to finish 52nd. She did however remain in 11th spot on the Money List with season earnings of ¥44,521,694 (approx. AUD$549,813.00).
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Photo courtesy LPGA of Japan – Mi-Jeong Jeon
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Home Page Photo by Anthony Powter – Tamie Durdin