Ai-chan, Omedetou Gozaimasu

Having hit my allotted 73 updates in today's Evian Masters not-quite-live-blog (the number of holes it took for Ai Miyazato to secure her 1st LPGA win), I hereby christen this the official Mostly Harmless Ai Miyazato Celebration Post. The Constructivist family has already celebrated in traditional American/Japanese fashion: we went to McDonalds for lunch and then cleaned the house (everyone except imoto, that is, who's declared herself a nudist and therefore exempt from okadazuke and soji shimas duties). Congratulations to Ai-chan and thanks to The Florida Masochist, Hound Dog, The Squire, and the Seoul Sisters crew for getting the party started in our absence.

OK, time for some highlights from Japan, including a live interview with Ai-chan from Evian at the end of the clip:



For reference, here's what the tournament organizers (in charming French) and Golf Channel (in patronizing English) focused on.

Here's an interview from right after the awards ceremony, with Ai-chan still wiping tears from her eyes:



Next, a slideshow from youtube's biggest Ai-chan fan:



And a few words from Ai-chan herself. Will try to get a translation from the Full Metal Archivist after the girls fall asleep.

[Update 1 (7/27/09, 4:30 am): Boiling down a long post to its essentials, Ai-chan says she's happy, excited, and above all grateful for all the support she's received over the years. Among all the usual suspects, she thanks the Japanese players at Evian by name. Three parts of the post stood out to the Full Metal Archivist, one near the start where she notes how calm she felt all week, another in the middle where she says that now all her struggles and the experience she gained from them haven't been wasted, and the last at the end where she says this is a new starting line for her career. It seems that both she and I agree that there's no reason she can't sustain this level of play for a long while. I'll try to get a translation of Mika Miyazato's post later. Playing in a scramble today, weather permitting.]

[Update 2 (4:39 am): In the meantime, here's the LPGA.com notes and interviews page. Didn't know Gustafson's birdie attempt in the playoff was resting in a ball mark.]

[Update 3 (7:21 am): Nice of the SI Guys to spare a few seconds for the LPGA this week.]

[Update 4 (7:34 am): By contrast, here's the top sports recap show in Japan:



Can't wait to see the frenzy for the WBO!]

[Update 5 (7:36 am): Here's what it was like watching it live in Japan:



Ironic that I'd have seen more of the tournament if I were still visiting family there than being here without being able to afford TV!]

[Update 6 (7/29/09, 5:18 pm): Momoko Ueda's post (so far only in Japanese) is almost as cute as Mika Miyazato's, but she can't refer to Ai as "Ai-sempai" like Mika-chan. Think it's time for everyone to start referring to Ai-chan as Ai-sempai now!]

[Update 7 (8/26/09, 10:56 am): Momoko Ueda's team finally got around to translating her congratulations to Ai-sama into English!]