(Shibata, Niigata Pref., Japan)
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World No.50 Ji-Hee Lee of Korea made a birdie at the final hole to clinch the Japan Women&aposs Open on Sunday. Her birdie catapulted her in front of Japan&aposs Ai Miyazato and compatriot Esther Lee who finished in a tie for second.
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At the start of the final round Esther Lee and Japan&aposs Akane Iijima were in the lead on 1-under par. They held a one stroke lead over Korea’s So-Hee Kim with Australia&aposs Nikki Campbell joined by Miyazato and Ji-Hee Lee one shot further back on 1-over par. Going into the final round there were 10 players within 4 shots of Lee and Iijima and it was any one of those players&apos tournaments to win.
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After nine holes on the final day, So-Hee Kim and Esther Lee had moved to 3-under par with Ji-Hee Lee one shot back and Campbell and Miyazato still in the mix just a further shot behind her. But it was Ji-Hee Lee who remained the most solid down the stretch picking up birdies at the 10th and 13th holes before a bogey at 14 saw her drop back into a tie for the lead with Miyazato and Esther Lee after 15 holes. Unfortunately for overnight leader Iijima, her tournament unravelled with 8-over on the back nine while So-Hee Kim also made too many bogeys in the last 9 holes to challenge.
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Ji-Hee Lee walked to the 18th tee box needing a birdie to surpass Miyazato, who had just finished. After an errant tee shot, she recovered to give herself a 15-footer which she duly holed to move to a winning score of 4-under par. The win was Lee’s second for the year and the 11th in her distinguished career. She also moved to the top of the money list with ¥98,738,750 (approx. AU$1.21million) in season’s earnings.
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After heading into the last nine holes just two shots from the lead, Nikki Campbell couldn’t find the necessary birdies to make a real challenge down the stretch. After a bogey at the 11th she got one back at the 16th and eventually finished in a tie for 5th just three shots behind the winner. Her cheque for ¥5,390,000 (approx. AU$66,000.00) sees her move into the all-important Top-50 on the money list. She is now ranked No.39 which should be enough to guarantee her card for 2009.