(29 November 2010 – Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan)
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Inbee Park capped a stellar season for South Korean golfers on the Japanese tour in 2010, claiming her second victory of the year Sunday at the season-ending Japan LPGA Championship Ricoh Cup. Park, the 2008 U.S. Women&aposs Open champion, carded four birdies against three bogeys and a double in a 1-over par 73 to finish four shots clear of compatriot Sun-Ju Ahn and Japan&aposs Mika Miyazato.
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rnThe final round was basically fought out between Park and Ahn after Miyazato fell from contention with early bogeys. A birdie at the 9th hole gave Park a two shot lead and she followed that with two more birdies to start her back nine opening up a four shot lead. Ahn was still fighting hard but kept giving up her birdies with bogeys soon after and couldn’t make any headway into the lead. She eventually finished with three bogeys in the last four holes, handing the victory to Park.
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rnPark has had a remarkable season in Japan; winning twice and finishing runner-up an incredible six times. She divides her time between the LPGA and Japan and those 8 Top-2 finishes come in just 14 starts; finishing 5th on the money list with ¥82,039,526 (approx. AUD$1,011,190) in season earnings.
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rnThe Money List title was won by Ahn who finished an astonishing ¥43,245,672 in front of Japan’s Sakura Yokomine. She finished with ¥145,073,799 (approx. AUD$1,788,130) in season earnings, also topping the scoring average with 70.6395 for those players playing 10 or more tournaments. Her outstanding season included 4 victories, 2 runner-ups, and 9 other Top-5 finishes. She did not miss a cut in 27 events.
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rnNikki Campbell was the only Australian to make the field for this elite 29 player end-of-season field, finishing in a tie for 16th. It was another excellent season for Campbell, finishing 13th on the money list with ¥55,219,825 (approx. AUD$680,620) in season earnings. Her only disappointment would be not to have recorded her third victory in Japan, finishing second on four occasions. Tamie Durdin, who played some of the year on the LPGA Tour finished 35th on the Money List with ¥27,003,225 (approx. AUD$332,832) in prizemoney, while Susie Mathews will have to head back to q-school for her chance to play in Japan in 2011, finishing 101st on the money list in her rookie season.
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