Dating back to 1973, the TOTO Japan Classic is one of the longest running events on the LPGA Tour’s schedule. For five decades, the annual trip to Japan has attracted the biggest stars in women’s golf with champions hoisting the trophy like Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, and most recently defending champion Gemma Dryburgh. Again this season the rising stars on the LPGA Tour are poised to compete alongside their Japan LPGA counterparts at the TOTO Japan Classic where major champions Hyo Joo Kim, Jennifer Kupcho, Hannah Green headline the field along with rookie Rose Zhang. Here’s a closer look at the featured groups for Wednesday’s opening round.
Wednesday, 9:39 a.m. - Chisato Iwai/Hyo Joo Kim/Jennifer Kupcho
Japan’s Chisato Iwai has enjoyed a stellar season with two victories already this year on the JLPGA in addition to nine more top 10s. The four-time winner on the JLPGA will be looking to maintain her red-hot form again this week at Taihelyo Club Minori Course as she gets a chance to gauge her game against two major champions in Hyo Joo Kim and Jennifer Kupcho.
At No. 7 in the Rolex Rankings, Kim is the top ranked player in the field in Japan. She is coming off a tie for 16th in her last start at the BMW Ladies Championship, which was a solid follow-up to her win at The Ascendant LPGA where she earned her first victory of the year. Kim will be one to watch over the closing stretch of the season as she’s currently leading the Tour in Scoring Average and this week has an opportunity to make a climb in the Race to the CME Globe point standings in which she sits at No. 4. It’s the first time Kim will be competing at the TOTO Japan Classic since 2019 when she finished second.
The year 2019 was also the last time Kupcho competed in Japan, where she finished tied for fourth in her debut appearance in the event. After a hot streak through the summer that saw her record back-to-back top 10s, Kupcho will be looking for a spark this week to lift her once more into the winner’s circle.
Wednesday, 10:01 a.m. - Ayaka Furue/Hannah Green/Rose Zhang
Japan’s Ayaka Furue returns home for this week’s TOTO Japan Classic where she knows not only the joy of competing in her home country but also how to manage the stress of competing in front of so many familiar faces. Furue won the TOTO Japan Classic in 2021, the year it was canceled on the LPGA Tour schedule due to the pandemic but was still staged on the JLPGA. As defending champion, she finished tied for fifth and returns to Japan once more in form with eight top-10 results so far this season on Tour.
Furue will play alongside Hannah Green and Rose Zhang, two winners already this year. Green earned her first victory in four years in April and has two more top 10s on the year. She’s coming off a tie for 17th last week in Malaysia and will look to build on that form as she returns to the TOTO Japan Classic for the first time since 2019.
Coming off her fourth top-10 finish of the year with a tie for third last week in Malaysia, Zhang is making the most of her first Asia swing on Tour as she moves into the closing stretch of the season and makes her rookie debut at the TOTO Japan Classic.
Wednesday, 10:12 a.m. - Gemma Dryburgh/Kokona Sakurai/Jiyai Shin
Gemma Dryburgh returns as defending champion to a different venue than where she won her maiden LPGA Tour title last season, but is nonetheless excited to be back in Japan. Dryburgh has found a spark late in the season as she’s coming off a tie for sixth last week at the Maybank Championship where she picked up her second top 10 of the year.
She will play alongside 19-year old Kokoa Sakurai, a member of the JLPGA, who has enjoyed a breakout season with four victories already this year in addition to another win on the TLPGA. Jiyai Shin is the third member of this group and like Sakurai has had a standout season with three worldwide wins. Although she’s coming off a rare missed cut in her last start on the JLPGA, Shin recorded four consecutive top fives on the JLPGA ahead of her last start and will be looking to regain that form again this week at the TOTO Japan Classic.
For a complete list of tee times for the TOTO Japan Classic, click here.
)
)
)
)
