The name on the top of the leaderboard after the first wave of the 2025 Shoprite LPGA Classic is the 22-year-old rookie from Japan, Akie Iwai with a score of -6 65.
Iwai started super fast on the front nine with six birdies and no bogeys. She made birdie on 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9. She slowed significantly on the back with her only birdie coming on 13 and a bogey on 16.
Iwai hit nine fairways but turned that into 15 hit greens. She was a bit less consistent off the tee on the back, which many could guess judging by the look of her scorecard. If there is an early weakness to Iwai’s game, it is being a bit erratic off the tee, she ranks No. 91 on the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy. She is a long hitter though and gains a lot of strokes on her approach shots.
Iwai is looking to become the fourth rookie to win on the LPGA Tour this year, joining Rio Takeda, Ingrid Lindblad and her twin sister Chisato, who won in Mexico two weeks ago. She would also be the fourth player from Japan to win, joining Takeda, Chisato and Mao Saigo, who won the Chevron Championship.
While she hasn’t won yet on the LPGA yet, Akie has shown strong results with two top-10 finishes including a runner-up in Los Angeles. She also ranks No. 24 in the Rolex Rankings and is fourth in Rookie of the Year points.
