Ai Miyazato

Rusty · 05-02-2010, 09:02 AM

Name: Ai Miyazato
Born: June 19, 1985 (1985-06-19) (age 25)
Higashi, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Residence: Higashi, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Height: 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Nationality: Japan
Turned professional: 2004

History
In her 2004 rookie season on the JLPGA Tour she won five tournaments. In February 2005, she represented Japan along with Rui Kitada winning the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf. In 2005, she won six events on the JLPGA tour, and was the #2 ranked player on the JLPGA Tour behind Yuri Fudoh.

In winning the Japan Open Championship at age 20 in 2005, Miyazato became the youngest player on the JLPGA Tour to win a major. Furthering the notion that Miyazato has revived the JLPGA Tour after the retirement of Ayako Okamoto, over 32,000 people, the largest gallery ever to attend a JLPGA event, witnessed the final day of that tournament.

She dominated the 2005 U.S. LPGA Q-School and secured her tour card, enabling her to compete in the 2006 season. She finished under par for four of the five qualifying rounds, and finished 12 strokes ahead of the closest competitor, setting a record for the largest margin of victory. Back in Japan, on December 15, she played the opening rounds of the Okinawa Open, becoming the first Japanese woman to compete in a domestic men's professional event, although she failed to make the cut for the final rounds.

Miyazato earned her first LPGA Tour win at the 2009 Evian Masters, shooting 14-under par 274 to tie Sophie Gustafson who she then beat on the first playoff hole.

In 2010, she won four of the first nine official tournaments on the LPGA Tour and on 21 June rose to number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings. She held the spot for only one week and was replaced by Christie Kerr who held the spot for three weeks, before Miyazato regained the spot again on 19 July, by a margin of 0.0006 average points.

On 22 August 2010, Miyazato won for the fifth time in 2010 at the Safeway Classic with a two stroke victory over Christie Kerr and Na Yeon Choi. She regained the number 1 spot in the World Rankings, which had been briefly retaken by Kerr. She gave up the top spot again to Kerr on 25 October.

She has endorsements deals with Suntory, Bridgestone Corporation, Japan Airlines, Oakley, Honda, Hisamitsu, Mitsubishi Electric & NTT Docomo

Her older brothers, Kiyoshi Miyazato and Yūsaku Miyazato are also professional golfers.

Professional wins (22)
LPGA Tour (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	26 Jul 2009	Evian Masters	-14 (69-66-70-69=274)	Playoff	Sophie Gustafson
2	21 Feb 2010	Honda PTT LPGA Thailand	-21 (67-67-70-63=267)	1 stroke	Suzann Pettersen
3	28 Feb 2010	HSBC Women's Champions	-10 (69-71-69-69=278)	2 strokes	Cristie Kerr
4	2 May 2010	Tres Marias Championship	-19 (63-72-71-67=273)	1 stroke	Stacy Lewis
5	20 June 2010	ShopRite LPGA Classic	-16 (66-67-64=197)	2 strokes	M. J. Hur
6	22 Aug 2010	Safeway Classic	-11 (66-67-72=205)	2 strokes	Na Yeon Choi Cristie Kerr

JLPGA Tour (15)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	28 Sep 2003	Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open (as an amateur)	-5 (70-70-71=211)	1 stroke	Mari Katayama Hiroko Yamaguchi
2	7 Mar 2004	Daikin Orchid Ladies	-10 (70-66-70=206)	3 strokes	Kaori Higo
3	13 Jun 2004	Suntory Ladies Open	-11 (69-70-70-68=277)	6 strokes	Hiroko Yamaguchi Toshimi Kimura
4	20 Jun 2004	APiTA Circle K Sunkus Ladies	-6 (69-69-72=210)	1 stroke	Yuri Fudoh
5	24 Oct 2004	Masters GC Ladies	-11 (69-68-68=205)	1 stroke	Miho Koga
6	21 Nov 2004	Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open	-14 (66-67-69=202)	3 strokes	Chieko Amanuma Rui Kitada
7	15 May 2005	Vernal Ladies	-13 (69-64-70=203)	8 strokes	Akiko Fukushima
8	22 May 2005	Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open	-7 (65-74-70=209)	Playoff	Nikki Campbell
9	21 Aug 2005	New Catapillar Mitsubishi Ladies	-10 (66-75-68=209)	3 strokes	Mi-Jeong Jeon Hiromi Mogi
10	2 Oct 2005	Japan Women's Open Golf Championship	-5 (69-69-72-73)	5 strokes	Akiko Fukushima
11	30 Oct 2005	Hisako Higuchi IDC Otsuka Kagu Ladies	-14 (67-68-67=202)	7 strokes	Julie Lu Nikki Campbell Kaori Higo Shinobu Moromizato
12	20 Nov 2005	Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open	-12 (69-70-65=204)	5 strokes	Shiho Oyama Woo-Soon Ko Kasumi Fujii
13	10 Sep 2006	JLPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup	-6 (70-68-74-70)	3 strokes	Hyun-Ju Shin
14	24 Sep 2006	Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open	-2 (70-73-71=214)	3 strokes	Shiho Oyama
15	11 Oct 2009	Sankyo Ladies Open	-4 (74-70-68=212)	1 stroke	Mayu Hattori Mi-Jeong Jeon

LPGA Tour career summary

Year	Events played	Cuts made	Wins	2nds	3rds	Top 10s	Best finish	Earnings ($)	Rank	Scoring average	Scoring rank
2004	2	1	0	1	0	1	T2	n/a	n/a	70.20	n/a
2005	6	5	0	0	2	1	T10	102,663	n/a	72.41	n/a
2006	21	19	0	0	1	7	T3	532,053	22	71.22	13
2007	25	19	0	1	2	7	2	788,477	17	73.01	56
2008	23	17	0	0	0	3	T4	410,833	46	72.19	48
2009	22	22	1	2	1	13	1	1,517,149	3	70.33	4
2010	14	12	5	0	1	7	1	1,311,818	1	70.51	T6

greentee · 05-02-2010, 04:49 PM

.
With 5 holes or so left to play, day 4 Tres Marias, Ai was 3 head of everyone and with no bogie's on the day.... looking like she may have number 3 for 2010 in the bag.... unless someone really goes after her.

What a player she is.... took her a bit to get her LPGA legs.... but she can walk any deck now, in any weather. At with her size and length of drive, she out play two top long hitting bombers, who are her partners in the final round.... outstanding. :-)

dangerbob · 05-02-2010, 05:53 PM

Congratulations to Ai Miyasato's LPGA win No. 3 of 2010!

Saint-Just X · 05-02-2010, 06:27 PM

Brilliant victory for the marvellous Miss Miyazato.

By all accounts,it was a bombers' course,too,which isn't her strength.Still,what she loses in yardage off the tee,she more than compensates for with the rest of her game.

Best player in the world ?...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

cleo · 05-02-2010, 08:42 PM

Well, from 2009 to 2010 Ai's got more LPGA wins than anybody.

MarinePaul · 05-02-2010, 09:30 PM

Great win by Ai. Congratulations to her.

05-02-2010, 05:53 PM	#3
dangerbob Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 4,871	Congratulations to Ai Miyasato's LPGA win No. 3 of 2010! __________________ "On this hapless EARTH There's small SINCERITY of mirth And LAUGHTER oft is but an ART To drown the outcry of the HEART!"

05-02-2010, 06:27 PM	#4
Saint-Just X Senior Member Contests: Joint 3nd place overall winner 2010 Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,674	Brilliant victory for the marvellous Miss Miyazato. By all accounts,it was a bombers' course,too,which isn't her strength.Still,what she loses in yardage off the tee,she more than compensates for with the rest of her game. Best player in the world ?... Pax Vobiscum Saint-Just X __________________ I have sent the most relevant posts you made about Paula Creamer to her lawyers. Hope they take action against your statements - Elf

05-02-2010, 08:42 PM	#5
cleo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: PA Posts: 1,494	Well, from 2009 to 2010 Ai's got more LPGA wins than anybody. __________________ "There's no use arguing with a fool. He only rages and scoffs, and tempers flare."

05-02-2010, 09:30 PM	#6
MarinePaul Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Warren, Ohio Posts: 8,001	Great win by Ai. Congratulations to her. __________________ Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you have.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

05-02-2010, 04:49 PM	#2
greentee Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,484 Images: 4	. With 5 holes or so left to play, day 4 Tres Marias, Ai was 3 head of everyone and with no bogie's on the day.... looking like she may have number 3 for 2010 in the bag.... unless someone really goes after her. What a player she is.... took her a bit to get her LPGA legs.... but she can walk any deck now, in any weather. At with her size and length of drive, she out play two top long hitting bombers, who are her partners in the final round.... outstanding. :-) __________________ ... I am not a tree, I am a tee... hit me, ah... wait a minute...