Japanese Rikako Morita crashes down to tie for 9th
Japanese Rikako Morita was more than thrilled at the end of second round of Mizuno Classic 2012, as she stood second, but she came crashing down to a tie for ninth position after posting a
73 in the final round.
It was a below-average game marred by three bogeys and one double bogey, as Morita blew several good chances to score.
The LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournament, played at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-s**+, Mie, Japan, saw the Japanese star shoot four birdies in the round as well,
but it was not enough to help her tear apart stars like American Stacy Lewis and South Korean Bo-Mee Lee.
As easy as it might have been to look during the second round in which Morita posted a decent 68 to take the second spot, standing four strokes behind the leader Lee, the Japanese golfer had
enough chances in the last round but didn’t take them.
On the back nine, she faltered on holes that did not offer much challenge. She disappointed local spectators after she carded two back-to-back bogeys on the 14th and 15th and a
double bogey on the 18th hole.
Morita was pretty confident after the second round as she fully capitalised on good weather conditions. She shot five birdies and one eagle.
While talking to the LPGA Tour during her second-round interview on Saturday, Morita said that she was in a position to carry on in the same way in the last round.
“From the last eagle, I been told that I’m only one away from the record (season 9 eagles by Akiko Fukushima) and to be honest I did have the record tie on my mind before the eagle putt,”
said the LPGA star whom the spectators got behind the most, expecting her keep the title within Japan.
“I’m happy that I made it but when did, I was happier with my score rather than the record tie. There were times that I couldn’t make my short putts and I tried to figure out what exactly
I was doing wrong,” Morita added.
She said that she has been in close contact with her mentor, Okamoto , who has helped her fix flaws in her putting.
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