With her recent victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, New Jersey, Japan’s Ai Miyazato now sits atop the Women’s World Golf Rankings released on Monday.
This is Miyazato’s first time ranked at No. 1 and her ranking is the result of winning four Ladies Professional Golf Association events this year. She supersedes South Korean golfer Jiyai Shin at No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings. Shin became No. 1 in May upon the retirement of longstanding top-ranking player Lorena Ochoa of Mexico. Ochoa was the highest-ranked female golfer from 2007 until her retirement. At her retirement announcement, Ochoa stated that her intention was always to play for about ten years and retire as the No. 1 golfer in the world.
On Sunday, Miyazato became the second post-Ochoa No. 1. During the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, she shot a seven-under 64 for a two stroke victory over South Korea’s M.J. Hur.
This rise to the top is exceptional given that Miyazato’s first LPGA victory came only a year ago. Miyazato won the Evian Masters in France last July with an aggregate event score of 274 (-14). The event is recognized as a major by the Ladies European Tour, but has been played as a normal event by the LPGA since 2000.
The 25-year-old Miyazato has had an interesting career. As a high school student in Higashi, Japan, Miyazoto won her first professional event on the Japan LPGA Tour in 2003. After this victory at the Dunlop Ladies Open in Miyagi Prefecture, Miyazota went professional and joined the LPGA of Japan Tour.
She was an immediate success, and during her 2004 rookie season Miyazota won five tournaments on the JLPGA Tour. In 2005, she and Rui Kitada represented Japan in the Women’s World Cup of Golf and won. She followed up the victory by winning another six events on the JLPGA Tour, finishing second in the overall rankings. One of these victories was the Japan Open Championship, which made Miyazota the youngest JLPGA major winner at only 20 years old.
Miyazota then set her sights for the more prestigious LPGA. In 2006, she breezed through the U.S. LPGA Qualifying School to secure her tour card. In the six qualifying rounds of the Q-School, Miyazota finished under par in five rounds. Her final result was 12 strokes ahead of the nearest competitor, which set the record for largest margin of victory. At this time she also attempted to compete in the Okinawa Open in Japan. This made her the first woman to ever attempt to compete in a men’s event in Japan, though Miyazota failed to make the final rounds.
Since her first LPGA Tour victory, Miyazota has won four of the nine official events on the 2010 Tour schedule. In addition to the $225,000 purse Miyazota won at her most recent event, she is also under contract with some very lucrative sponsors, including Suntory, Bridgestone Corporation, Japan Airlines, Oakley, Honda, Hisamitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, Meiji Seika, and Yamaichi.
When asked about her ascent to the top of the Rolex Rankings, Miyazota said: "When I started playing in the States, that's when I really started thinking about being No. 1. That became a dream of mine, especially watching Annika [Sorenstam] and Lorena play. Now that I am No. 1, I still can't believe it, but I do feel very comfortable with it."
Women’s golf has often been dominated by single players, starting with Annika Sörenstam, and followed by Lorena Ochoa. Miyazota seems on pace to become the dominant force on the Ladies Tour and certainly has the talent to maintain her No. 1 ranking for quite some time to come.
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