By: Max Bechtoldt
Coming into the 2019 LPGA Tour season, no Japanese player had ever won a major championship. When 20-year-old Hinako Shibuno left her home country for the first time to play in The AIG Open Championship, she couldn’t have been more of a long shot. But, the final putt she hit on 18 is now iconic, and started the avalanche of elite women’s Japanese golf.
This isn’t to say there weren’t successful Japanese players before her. Ayako Okamoto won 16 times through the 80s and 90s. Ai Miyazato was a strong player in the early 2010’s with nine-career victories including five in the 2010 season, where she rose to No. 1 in the world rankings. But, there was never sustained success from a large group of players.
Every year now there are new Japanese stars on the course week-in and week-out. Since Shibuno’s Cinderella, storybook victory, three more major championships have been won by Japanese players. Yuka Saso has two U.S. Women’s Open Championships (though her first was played under the Philippine flag), and just last week Ayaka Furue won her first major at Evian. Here in 2024, two of the four majors have been won by Japanese players.
The roster is deep as well. Nasa Hataoka has been one of the best players on tour over the last five years. Though she doesn’t yet have a major title, she is one of the best in the world without one. Mao Saigo is No. 2 in the Rookie of the Year standings, just behind Australia’s Gabi Ruffels. Mone Imani, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, is No. 7 in the Rookie of the Year race. In 2023, Yuna Nishimura and Minami Katsu both finished top five in a very tight RoY race.
At this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, five of the top 10 finishers were from Japan. That included winner Saso, runner-up Shibuno, Furue at six and Sakura Koiwai and Rio Takeda tied for ninth. Because of the success of JLPGA players in the majors, they’ve started earning heavy world ranking points. 11 Japanese players are in the top 65 in the Rolex Rankings. That is third only to the United States and South Korea.
And it’s only beginning as well. Miyu Yamashita, one of the most dominant golfers in the world, is expected to pursue LPGA Tour status in 2025 after taking part in the Olympics. So too are the Iwai twins, Akie ranked No. 38 in the world and Chisato ranked No. 55.
While Japan is seeing dominance this season, the best is yet to come for the country as more start playing weekly on the LPGA Tour. They’ve proven it in major championships, now they will every stop of the year.
