Six-time LPGA Tour winner Nasa Hataoka capitalized on her home field advantage on Friday at the TOTO Japan Classic, shooting a second-round 66 to take the co-lead alongside the JLPGA’s Shiho Kuwaki. The Japanese golfer, who hails from the Ibaraki area, lives just 20 minutes away from the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course and practices just 10 minutes away at her home course. But, she has stopped by the Taiheiyo Club a few times in the past year and that practice has paid off. In front of her home crowd, she fired off seven birdies in her 6-under round to take her third overnight lead or co-lead of the 2023 season.
“I am very happy I shot a 6-under today. I play good today,” Hataoka said. “Still my putting was good but my tee shot was only six time hit on the fairway so I need to improve my long game… (On putting) I just focus on start line and speed control.”
While Hataoka’s accuracy off the tee left much to be desired – she hit just six of 14 fairways – she made up for it on the greens, continuing a good trend of solid putting that started in round one. She made two 12-foot putts on Nos. 2 and 4 for her first birdies of the day, then added three more on holes 7-9 thanks to phenomenal approach shots that left her within three feet on each hole. She made the turn in 31, at that point three strokes ahead of the nearest chaser. A bogey on 10 set her back, but she took advantage of both par-5s on the back, Nos. 12 and 17, leaving herself with a one-foot tap in putt on 17 to add another stroke to her lead. She finished -14 overall.
Kuwaki, who played alongside Hataoka, made three birdies on the front on holes 3, 5 and 7 before making the turn at -10 overall and three strokes behind Hataoka. She birdied 10 while Hataoka bogeyed, closing the gap, and also birdied the par-5 12th. Just one stroke behind Hataoka at that point, Kuwaki matched her birdie on 17 then added a last birdie on 18 to take the co-lead on the very last.
“Yes, my shots are pretty steady this week. I have a lot of birdie opportunities. Everything goes very smoothly… I got something good feeling during the round yesterday and kept that momentum,” Kuwaki said of her second round. On playing with Hataoka, she added, “I really enjoyed it very much. It was my first time playing with her and I tried to learn something from her today. I learned a lot from her, especially shots from the rough.”
Three golfers sit in a tie for third after 36-holes, including the LPGA’s Xiyu Lin, who shot her second bogey-free 66 on Friday. After feeling some shoulder discomfort early this morning, Lin rallied through the pain with two quick birdies on 1 and 2, eventually adding four more to the card later in the round. She is tied with JLPGA players Mone Inami, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, and Akie Iwai, who held the first-round lead after tying the tournament 18-hole scoring record of 63.
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