(21 November 2011 – Mitoyo, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan)
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Korean Ji-Hee Lee moved to No.2 on the LPGA of Japan money list when she defeated Bo-Bae Song in a playoff at the Daio Paper ElleAir Ladies Open on Sunday. Both players finished regulation at 9-under par, while China’s Shanshan Feng and overnight leader Saiki Fujita finished at 8-under par in tie for third.
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rnFeng had shot the round of the day, a 67 that moved her to 8under par for the week and made her the leader in the clubhouse, still with four groups out on the course. As Feng was charging up the leaderboard, second-round leader Fujita was moving in the opposite direction, making bogey at four of her first ten holes to fall back to 6-under par.
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rnThe door was ajar for Lee, who got off to a flying start with three birdies in her first six holes to climb to 8-under par. By the time she reached the 17th tee, she had added three birdies and a bogey to sit on 10-under par. By then, the only player with a chance to catch her was Song.
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rnPlaying in the group behind Lee, however, Song bogeyed the 385-yard par-4 15th to drop to -7 and failed to birdie the short 273-yard par-4 16th to remain three shots back with two holes left to play.
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rnIn a dramatic final 45 minutes of regular play, Lee finished par-bogey, while Song finished birdie-birdie to tie for the clubhouse lead at 9-under par. Nobody in the final group could catch them and there was yet another playoff, which Lee won with a birdie on the first extra hole. It was Lee’s second win of 2011 and 15th on the Japanese tour in her 11-year career.
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rnSouth Korea&aposs Sun Ju Ahn clinched her second consecutive LPGA of Japan money title with one event left in the season after finishing in a tie for eighth on Sunday. Ahn closed with an even-par 72 to share eighth with two others at 6-under 210, adding ¥2.5 million for an insurmountable lead over second-placed Lee on the money list. Ahn has earned ¥119.7 million, which is ¥25.6 million more than Lee.
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rnTamie Durdin was the only Australian to make the cut, finishing in a tie for 48th at 5-over par.
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