Another week of golf in Asia, this week in Japan, and relatively little news coverage. Again the LPGA has scarce knowledge on their website about which golfers are playing in the final field and who will be competing against the multi-talented Annika Sorenstam.
Most of the golfers who played last week at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic will fly here to Japan but this story should certainly focus a bit on the number-one golfer in the world because she just might win this tournament a record fifth time!
A fifth consecutive victory for Sorenstam would set a record not only on the LPGA tour but on the PGA tour as well! Tiger Woods and Walter Hagen are among the few who can lay claim to such an extraordinary defense. It would be nice to see a woman take top honors as well.
This year’s Mizuno Classic is similar to last year’s tournament. It is a 54-hole stroke-play event with no cuts being made and carries a total purse of $1 million.
The par-72, 6,450 yard Seta Golf Course in Shiga, Japan sets the stage for yet another terrific event which will play out on November 4th through 6th to a limited audience. Am I being a bit of a snob by calling the audience limited? I guess from my perspective if it’s not broadcast here in the United States, even with the numerous cable networks and satellites flying around in the sky, it is a bit small by comparison to events which get weekly coverage here in the states such as every European Tour event.
This is the tenth year that Seta Golf Course is hosting this championship. The Mizuno Classic dates back to 1973 so it’s a popular venue on the calendar.
At last year’s Mizuno Classic Annika won in an exciting fashion. She creamed the competition by finishing a whopping nine strokes ahead of Japan’s favorite teenager Ai Miyazato and Michie Ohba. Furthermore, Sorenstam only had one bogey on the ninth hole on the final day of the tournament. In 2003 Annika also won by nine strokes and amazingly filled in a bogey-free scorecard and one without a three-putt! In both the 2003 and 2004 events Annika never filled in a round higher than a 66 and carded three 63’s! I guess the golf course must suit her visuals well.
Eight events have been won by Sorenstam this year and she just might be on track to win her ninth at the Mizuno. Although she will not tie her record of eleven victories in a season, Annika has already laid claim to both the Rolex Player of the Year Award and is the number-one golfer listed on the ADT Official Money List.
Who can stop her this week?
There will be forty-three LPGA golfers in attendance as well as thirty-five LPGA of Japan players looking to add a win to their final weeks on the circuit.
Second place last year also went to Grace Park, 2004 winner of last week’s CJ Nine Bridges Classic. Although Park has ben plagued with injuries she did perform well with a sixth place finish so I’m hoping to see her name “Grace” the top-ten on the leaderboard this week.
My expectations are to find the popular nineteen-year old favorite Ai Miyazato in the field. I played golf with two Japanese women last week who couldn’t speak English well but they sure knew her name well enough! Obviously Mi has the fans cheering in her corner.
In May Miyazato laid claim to her first Japanese title of the year at the Vernal Ladies and then won again the following week in a playoff during a torrential downpour at the Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open. Although carding a course record at the ANZ Ladies Masters in Queensland Australia it was Karrie Webb who took the title finishing only one stroke ahead of the young Japanese golfer.
Miyazato also recently moved on to the next stage of the Q-School Qualifier. Finals take place in November. I’m sure she’ll make it through Q-School and on to a solid career on the LPGA Tour.
Mi Hyun Kim will be in the mix. Last week she shared second place honors with Carin Koch at Nine Bridges. She attributed part of her problems last week to the weather which was cold and windy. Let’s hope that there will be no excuses if the weather cooperates.
Jeong Jang claimed fourth place in last week’s tournament and looks to be a threat this week as well.
Natalie Gulbis will finish off a whirlwind tour of Asia with her visit to Japan this week. Although Natalie only made it to 55th place last week I think she has been concentrating more on a cultural visit than one which focuses on her golfing talent. Jimin Kang, who tied with Gulbis near the bottom of the leaderboard, will try again this week as well.
Karrie Webb hasn’t really threatened much this season since her early victory at the ANZ Ladies Tournament so maybe she can make a comeback with a win this week.
Other hopefuls in attendance this week include Christina Kim, Meena Lee, Birdie Kim and Hee-Won Han.
I hope that in spite of the fact that I won’t be able to watch the Mizuno Classic that it will be an exciting tournament. I’m hoping that Annika comes through again for her fifth victory at this event and places her name besides the greatest golfers of all time, male or female. It’s time already for women to stand on an equal footing with men in this sport!