Hello everyone, this is Ai Miyazato. To play on the LPGA Tour was one of my dreams, and I am very excited to make my debut this year. I gained confidence through my experience at the Qualifying Tournament where I won by 12 strokes, and I will take that confidence and try to play my best this year.
By the way, getting ready for an opening season for Tour players is like celebrating a New Year in Japan. Let me introduce you to something new. I'll explain what a Japanese New Year is all about.
Japanese New Year (SHOGATSU) is one of the most important holidays in Japan similar to Christmas in the U.S. Most businesses and shops shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.
The place where I live, Okinawa, Japan, we have a slightly different custom than other places in Japan, as well as during the New Year holidays. Various kinds of special dishes/foods are served during Japanese New Year including Rice Cakes (MOCHI - pounded sticky rice), however, we don't have that tradition of eating in Okinawa. There are so many unique cultures and traditions from Okinawa, and I will love to introduce some of those through my rookie blog.
A few weeks ago, I was in Australia for the ANZ Ladies Masters. I got a wonderful opportunity to swim with dolphins at Sea World. Those dolphins were so adorable and it gave me a chance to heal my exhausted body from playing tournaments. Dolphins' eyes are so cute. I felt like the dolphins actually understood my thoughts and feeling, and I was stunned and impressed that dolphins are so intelligent.
Please check back shortly and I hope you look forward to reading my next rookie blog.
Thank you.