(7 September 2009 – Mizunami, Gifu Prefecture, Japan)
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Shinobu Moromizato, the new superstar of Japanese women&aposs golf maintained her dominance on her home tour with her fifth win of the season at the Golf 5 Ladies Tournament in Mizunami, Japan. It was Moromizato&aposs 4th win in her last 10 starts which has also included a runner-up, a third and two other Top-10&aposs. On an enthralling final day, she overcame a trio of fellow countrywomen by two shots; Chie Arimura, Sakura Yokomine and Miki Saiki.
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rnAfter opening rounds of 67 and 69, Moromizato started the final day in a five-way tie for the lead at 8-under par. It promised to be a tournament fought down to the wire with Miho Koga, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Yui Kawahara and Yokomine all starting the day at 8-under, tied with Moromizato. Koga (71), Jeon (72) and Kawahara (72) couldn’t get anything going and failed to feature in the finish.
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rnYokomine (-2) kept pace with Moromizato (-3) over the opening nine holes making the turn just one behind. However, both Arimura and Saiki were making a run at the leaders as they both played the front nine in 5-under par to be even with and one behind Moromizato respectively. Both briefly held the lead with a birdie and eagle each on the 10th before Moromizato joined them at 12-under par with her own birdie on the 11th.
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rnWith six holes to play, Moromizato and Arimura were at 12-under, Saiki had fallen back to 11-under after a costly bogey on the 12th while Yokomine was still in the hunt on 10-under. The decisive hole turned out to be the 13th with Moromizato the only player to make a birdie and followed that up with another on the 16th to get to 14-under. Arimura herself had gotten to the 13-under mark with birdie at the 15th and walked to the 18th tee, two groups in front of Moromizato one shot behind. However, she made bogey and fell back into a tie for second. Neither Saiki nor Yokomine could make the necessary birdies over the closing holes to catch Moromizato who finished with two solid pars to claim a two-shot victory.
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rnAfter her tournament record 14-under par, Moromizato said, “I never thought I would collect five wins so early in the season so I have surprised even myself.” With comparisons to Ryo Ishikawa, the latest Japanese men’s sensation, she joked, “I will keep trying to do my best so I am not outdone by Ryo.” Her prizemoney of ¥10.8million saw her top the ¥100million mark in season earnings and she now leads the race for the leading money winner by a comfortable ¥21,153,000 (approx. AUD$268,000.00).
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rnNikki Campbell produced another solid performance on this increasingly tough tour with a tie for 22nd after rounds of 73, 69 and 70. She sits 25th on the money list with ¥20,029,466 (approx. AUD$264,000.00) in season earnings. Tamie Durdin slipped to 15th on the money list after missing the cut. This week sees the LPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup being played, with ¥140,000,000 on offer; the biggest purse on the LPGA of Japan schedule.
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Photo by Paul Melville – Miki Saiki