Aki Iwai spent the middle of Thursday’s back nine making Taiheiyo Club Minori Course look easy. A bogey to open the inward half didn’t slow her down. She answered with four birdies in five holes, and her 6-under 66 left her level with Miyu Yamashita and Sayaka Takahashi after 18 holes of the TOTO Japan Classic.

Iwai was steady going out. Birdies at the par-5 second, the par-4 sixth and the par-5 ninth had her 3-under at the turn. Things got more interesting after a bogey at the par-4 10th. She birdied the 11th and the par-5 12th, parred the par-3 13th, then rolled in two more at the 14th and 15th.

Another birdie at the par-5 17th took her to 7-under with a one-shot advantage, but a closing bogey at the 18th dropped her back into the tie. Her card showed eight birdies, two bogeys and eight pars.

Iwai, 24, has been building toward a week like this during the Asia swing. She tied for 15th at the BMW Ladies Championship, then shot a final-round 67 in Malaysia to finish T9 at the Maybank Championship, her sixth top-10 of 2026.

Two of those came on big stages: a solo third at The Amundi Evian Championship in July and a share of second at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G in September. The others were at the HSBC Women’s World Championship (T8), Aramco Championship (T5) and Dow Championship (T7). This is her 27th start of the year, and a win is the one thing missing. She sat 13th in the Race to the CME Globe standings coming into the week.

A T8 finish at the 2023 edition was Iwai’s best showing at this event, when she reached 18-under 270. She finished T39 in 2024 and T27 last year after an opening 67.

A six-time JLPGA Tour winner, Iwai joined the LPGA Tour by tying for fifth at the Final Qualifying stage of Q-Series in 2024. She broke through at The Standard Portland Classic in 2025 during her rookie season, winning at 24-under, and now has 54 holes left to add a second LPGA title.

She won’t be the only Iwai to watch. Twin sister Chisato Iwai opened with a 2-under 70 and is T26. With a home crowd behind them, the twins will look to keep the momentum going on Friday.

Late Birdie Burst Puts Aki Iwai in Three-Way Tie Atop 2026 TOTO Japan Classic

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