(31 August 2009 – Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, Japan)
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Korea&aposs Mi-Jeong Jeon fired rounds of 68, 65 and 66 to win the Yonex Ladies Golf convincingly at the Yonex Country Club on Sunday. Her total of 17-under par total 199 was five shots better than Japan’s Yukari Baba (-12) who also finished the tournament with a 6-under par 66 to break out of a logjam for third. Five players finished in a tie for third on 9-under par total 207, 10 shots behind Jeon.
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rnJeon started the second round one shot off the pace but put distance between her and her competitors with a near-flawless second round of 7-under par 65. Her round included 8 birdies with her only blemish being a bogey on the last. This meant she headed into the final day with a commanding 4-shot lead. No one was going to catch her as she fired three birdies on each nine, with no bogeys. No one got closer than 4 shots throughout the final round.
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rnIt was Jeon’s third win of the season and the 12th of her career in Japan. With this win her Rolex ranking of No.40 will surely improve when the new rankings list is released tomorrow. She moved up to third on the Money List to continue her impressive performances over the last five years, which have seen her finish 6th (2008), 3rd (2007), 2nd (2006) and 12th (2005). Japan’s Shinobu Moromizato extended her lead over Sakura Yokomine at the top of the Money List with her 3rd place and now leads by ¥14,712,534 (approx. AUD$187,354.00).
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rnNo Australians competed last week, while this week sees the Golf 5 Ladies at the Mizunami Golf Club in Gifu Prefecture. Players will be looking to find form for the following week’s LPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup, the biggest purse on the LPGA of Japan schedule.
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Photo courtesy of www.lpga.or.jp
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