(22 March 2010 – Kagoshima, Japan)
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Japan&aposs Rui Kitada captured her sixth tournament victory on the LPGA of Japan winning the T Point Ladies Golf Tournament on Sunday. Rounds of 69, 67 and 72 saw Kitada finish at 8-under par total 208, a commanding five shots ahead of second placed Yuko Mitsuka (Japan). Koreans Young Kim and Ji-Hee Lee finished in a tie for third on 2-under par.
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rnKitada began the final round at 8-under par, a slender one shot lead over World No. 18 Chie Arimura, with the previous week’s winner Yun-Jye Wei one shot further back and World No. 15, Sakura Yokomine just three back on 5-under par. All four players began their final rounds badly, each dropping shots in their opening two holes, however, only Kitada managed to stop the slide on the back nine.
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rnThrough nine holes Kitada was back to 6-under par, but held a two shot cushion over Arimura, while Wei had dropped four shots on the front side to fall out of contention. In difficult conditions, Kitada played the back nine in 2-under par with birdies at the 11th and 15th holes, while her nearest competitor, Arimura, dropped shots at the 10th, 11th and 12th holes to ease the pressure. Yokomine, last year’s Money List winner, also dropped shots at 11 and 12 to fall out of the reckoning.
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rn28-year-old Kitada wrapped up her sixth career title with three pars to finish, her first win since 2008. After a 5th place the previous week, Kitada looks to be returning to the form that saw her claim three titles in 2004 and finish 3rd on the Money List.
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rnNikki Campbell continued a solid start to the season with a tie for 17th. She finished with a disappointing final round of 4-over par 76 which included bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes to fall out of the Top-10. The consistent Campbell has made all three cuts so far this season, finishing T10, T31 and T17 in her three starts. Unfortunately, Susie Mathews, in her rookie season, missed the cut after a disastrous opening round of 7-over par 79. She bounced back well in the second round with a 1-under par 71 but was still two shy of the cut mark.
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rnThe Japanese Tour takes a break this week and will resume with the Yamaha Ladies Open on the 2nd of April.