Runner-up at the Daikin Orchid Ladies Tournament Opener
Earns Additional 8.72 Million Yen, Reaching a Total of 1.38 Billion Yen
Iwai Clinches Victory by 4 Strokes, Achieves Back-to-Back Wins and 8th Career Title
Shin Ji-ae has risen to first place in total prize money on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour.
On the 9th, at the opening Daikin Orchid Ladies Golf Tournament (total prize money of 120 million yen) held at Ryukyu Golf Club in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (par 72, 6,610 yards), she added a 3-under-par 69 in the final 4th round to finish tied for 2nd place (6-under-par 282). She earned 8.72 million yen (about 86 million won) that day, increasing her cumulative prize money to 1,380,743,405 yen (about 13.5 billion won), surpassing the previous leader Yuri Fudo (Japan, 1,372,623,082 yen). This marked a historic achievement in her 300th JLPGA Tour start.
Since moving to the JLPGA Tour in 2014, Shin Ji-ae has achieved a remarkable total of 65 professional wins. Including her victory at the 2005 KLPGA Tour SK Enclean Invitational as an amateur, she has amassed 66 wins in total. This year, she plans to focus on the Japanese circuit aiming for the long-awaited JLPGA Tour money title. She is expected to dominate the JLPGA Tour’s all-time prize money rankings for the foreseeable future. The 3rd place in total JLPGA Tour prize money is Jeon Mi-jeong, who earned 1,319,830,000 yen over 586 events; 4th is Lee Ji-hee with 1,256,610,000 yen from 610 events; and 5th is Ahn Sun-joo, who earned 1.1 billion yen in 255 tournaments.
On the same day, Iwai Chisato (Japan) shot a 6-under-par 66 to secure a commanding 4-stroke victory (10-under-par 278). She successfully defended her title from last year, marking her 8th JLPGA Tour win. Iwai Chisato’s twin sister, Iwai Akie, who won last month at the Honda LPGA Thailand, finished tied for 7th place (3-under-par 285).
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
