Since I'm up anyway preparing for a departmental retreat/symposium this afternoon, let me give a quick JLPGA update. With 3 of the top 5 Japanese women's golfers in the States this week, the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi promised to be a showdown between JLPGA legend Yuri Fudoh and the rest of the field, particularly Miki Saiki, Miho Koga, and Bo-Bae Song. But it was #17-ranked Hiroko Yamaguchi who jumped out to a huge 36-hole lead, by 4 shots over #10 Akiko Fukushima, #18 Hyun-Ju Shin, and #29 Ayako Uehara. Through the first 8 holes, Yamaguchi was cruising--7 pars and a birdie on the 8th--to extend her lead to 6 on her closest competitors. But thanks to a horrific stretch of holes from the 9th through 14th--bogey-double-par-double-par-bogey--her lead is now only 1 over Uehara and Shin, 2 over Fukushima, 3 over #21 Ji-Hee Lee, and 4 over #25 Mie Nakata and #27 Chie Arimura. Here's where we'll see how much Uehara learned from her Lexus Cup experience this past winter and Shin from her missed-tap-in-away-from-a-playoff in Australia earlier this season. Stay tuned!
[Update: Yamaguchi held them off! Here's the top 10, with Sunday scores in parentheses:
1 Hiroko Yamaguchi +1 (77)
2 Ayako Uehara +3 (75), Hyun-Ju Shin +3 (75)
4 Mie Nakata +5 (74), Ji-Hee Lee +5 (75), Akiko Fukushima +5 (77)
7 Yun-Jye Wei +7 (71), Rikako Morita +7 (74), Chie Arimura +7 (78)
10 Shinobu Moromizato +8 (74), Yukari Baba +8 (74), Eun-Hye Lee +8 (74), Itsumi Okada +8 (75)
Must have been terrible weather--only 2 players anywhere near the top of the leaderboard went under par on the back 9, and 5 in the top 10 failed to break 40!]
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