When Gemma Dryburgh hoisted the trophy at the TOTO Japan Classic to become the 11th Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2022 LPGA Tour season, tying the record for most first-time champions in a single year, it seemed improbable that women’s golf would see that sort of parity again anytime soon. It had been more than 25 years since that number of first-timers had found the winner’s circle in one season.
But as the Tour returns to Japan one year later, there have already been a record 12 Rolex First-Time Winners this season. And with a wide-open field teeing it up in the fourth and final event of the Tour’s fall swing through Asia, there’s plenty of possibility that the number of new champions will grow once again.
Dryburgh travels back to Japan seeking not just a successful title defense but with a watchful eye on the season’s closing stretch as she is in a position in which many players also find themselves – trying to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship.
The TOTO Japan Classic is one of only two events remaining on the schedule in which players will be able to earn a spot in the field at the season-ending event. The top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe point standings, upon conclusion of next week’s The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, will qualify.
Dryburgh will begin the week in Japan right on the bubble at No. 60 in the standings. She moved into that position thanks to a tie for sixth last week at the Maybank Championship, which lifted her from No. 70 to her current position in the Race to the CME Globe. Her performance in the next two events will determine whether she’ll be able to secure a spot inside the top 60.
But Dryburgh isn’t alone in her quest to climb the point standings this week.
To begin the TOTO Japan Classic, Jasmine Suwannapura sits at No. 59. She jumped from No. 84 to just inside the top-60 cut-off with a tie for third last week in Malaysia.
Albane Valenzuela is another player on the bubble, currently sitting at No. 58 in the point standings, and will be trying to maintain her position in an effort to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship for the very first time.
Lauren Coughlin is amongst the other hopefuls looking to make a jump in the season-long points race. Coughlin begins the TOTO Japan Classic at No. 65, coming off a tie for 10th in the Republic of Korea and a tie for 34th in Malaysia. Stephanie Meadow sits at No. 66 in the standings thanks to a tie for eighth at the Buick LPGA Shanghai and a tie for 20th at the Maybank Championship. And major champion In Gee Chun, who is sitting at 74th, will need to make up some ground over the next two weeks with only one top-10 finish this season.
They’ll all be teeing it up come Thursday at the TOTO Japan Classic, which features a limited field of 78 players made up of 43 members of the LPGA and 35 from the JLPGA. They’ll be competing over 72 holes for a purse of $2 million at Taihelyo Club Minori Course, where the tournament was staged in 2020. That year, the tournament was not a part of the LPGA Tour’s schedule due to travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, but the course also hosted the tournament in 2016 and 2017.
The Tour’s annual trip to Japan is one of the longest-running traditions on the LPGA Tour, as the tournament dates back to 1973 and features a who’s who of past champions. Donna Caponi (1976), Amy Alcott (1979), Nancy Lopez (1982), Pat Bradley (1983), Patty Sheehan (1981,1988), Betsy King (1992,1993), Annika Sorenstam (2001-2005) and Karrie Webb (2006) are among the biggest names in the women’s game who have been victorious in Japan.
Hoisting a trophy at the TOTO Japan Classic has been a gateway to the Hall of Fame for many legends who have competed on the LPGA Tour. Come Thursday, many in the field will be looking to add their name to the growing list of Rolex First-Time Winners this season, while others are hopeful that a solid finish will become their gateway to this year’s CME Group Tour Championship.
)
)
)
)
