LPGA Tour finishes Asian swing
BY Bruce Young | Japan Ladies Tour | 2010 Mizuno Classic | Preview | 03 Nov 2010
The LPGA Tour completes its Asian swing this week when the Mizuno Classic is played at the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club in Shima Shi in Mie Prefecture in Japan to the southwest of Tokyo.
The tournament has been played as an LPGA Tour since 1973 but has been played at this venue since 2006. The event is co-sanctioned by both the LPGA Tour and the Japan Ladies Tour.
Korean Bo Bae Song was a non LPGA Tour member when she won the tournament last year and in doing so earned the right to play on the LPGA Tour but she surprisingly turned that down, preferring instead to remain on the Japan Ladies Tour.
Song will be back to defend but she will face a big task in trying to hold off the likes of world number one Ji Yai Shin, Japan golf’s darling Ai Miyazato and the Japan Ladies Tour runaway money list leader, Sun Ju Ahn.
Australians in the field are previous winner of the event at this venue, Karrie Webb and recent LPGA Tour Katherine Hull.
Surprisingly the Japan Golf Tour’s 11th ranked player in 2010, Nikki Campbell, is not in the field.
Both Lindsey Wright and Sarah Jane Smith await a start from the alternate list which might happen for Wright but is hardly likely for Smith.
The LPGA Tour will head back to North America next week for the Lorena Ochoa tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.
