Saturday, April 20, 2013

Chie Arimura Misses the Cut on the JLPGA

What is it about playing on the LPGA that seemingly makes it so difficult for top Japanese female golfers to return to the JLPGA successfully?  Last week, LPGA rookie and JLPGA veteran Ayako Uehara came close to DFL in her return event to her original home tour.  This week, Chie Arimura just missed the cut by a mile at the Vantelin Ladies Open.  After a 79 today that featured 2 double bogeys, my pick for Rookie of the Year on the LPGA has reached a new low this year.  Let's hope she's not dealing with the kind of injuries that derailed ex-LPGAer Shiho Oyama's career and from which she's still trying to recover (she barely stayed on the right side of the cut line today).  Yes, Momoko Ueda has won the Mizuno as both a non-member and a member of the LPGA, Harukyo Nomura earned membership on the JLPGA with a win, and Mika Miyazato won a JLPGA major, but how long has it been since Ai Miyazato has won on home soil?  (Answer:  2009, and that lone win was her only one since winning twice on the JLPGA during her LPGA rookie season back in 2006.)

[Update (10:26 am):  To be fair to Arimura, lots of big-name players are struggling this week.  Mi-Jeong Jeon also missed the cut, while the likes of Yuri Fudoh, Sun-Ju Ahn, Ji-Hee Lee, and money-list leader barely made it.  The field is totally bunched, but Miki Saiki is on top with Sakura Yokomine and Yuki Ichinose right behind.  It's anyone's ball game tomorrow.  Just not Arimura's or Jeon's....]

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