讀後心得

Xiao Zhu Ying finished as runner-up consecutively in last year's final season and has had a similar situation at the start of this year, participating in only one event and then returning to Katsuragi to seek a title defense. With other top players entering the LPGA, Xiao Zhu has become a top contender for the new queen title; however, she was eliminated in the Gold Orchid Women's Tournament with a score of 79. Despite recently tying for tenth place in the V-point Women's Tournament and improving to the best round of 65, she ultimately lost by two strokes. To date, Xiao Zhu Ying has earned five victories in her professional career, but there is still a gap compared to other competitors. Facing the challenge of repeatedly finishing as a runner-up in the past, she needs to seize more opportunities to compete for the championship. Notably, the young Kan Fuhua has shown impressive strength in recent competitions, promising a bright future.

Last year at this time, Hokkaido's Nasa Hataoka finished second for two consecutive weeks at the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Ladies Yokohama Tire Golf Tournament and the V Point Eneos Golf Tournament, and then went on to achieve a better result at Katsuragi Golf Club in Shizuoka Prefecture, winning the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi. This year, Nasa Hataoka's season start is somewhat similar to last year, with the only difference being that she only finished second at the AXA Ladies Golf Tournament in Miyazaki. This week, she returns to Katsuragi's Yamana Course to challenge for the title.

With four of the top five players from last season—Rika Takeda, Minami Shimada, Chisei Iwai, and Akari Iwai—heading to the LPGA tournaments in the U.S., Nasa Hataoka has become a popular candidate for the new queen. However, she was eliminated with a score of seventy-nine in the first tournament of the new season, the Daikin Orchid Ladies Golf Tournament. Nevertheless, she performed excellently in the V Point Women's Tournament, tying for tenth, and last Sunday fought hard with the best score of sixty-five, but Haruka Kudo also delivered a solid score of sixty-seven, ultimately finishing two strokes behind and missing out on her twelfth career JLPGA title.

The 25-year-old Nasa Hataoka has won at least one title every year since 2019, achieving an impressive four victories in 2021, and even five victories in the merged 2020-21 season. However, facing off against the Golden Generation of Japanese players like Ayaka Furue and Mone Inami, as well as the rising stars Minami Shimada and Rika Takeda, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Although Nasa Hataoka has won five titles in the past three years, she still finds it difficult to compete for the queen's throne. Last year, she finally surpassed Minami Shimada on the prize money list, but there’s still a gap of over ninety million yen between her and Rika Takeda.

Nasa Hataoka actually had opportunities to win more titles in the past two seasons, but she finished second nine times, with a total of nineteen second-place finishes and three third-place finishes in her professional career, exceeding her number of titles. If she wants to ascend to the queen's throne, the key will be whether she can seize more championship opportunities.

This week marks the fourth stop of the JLPGA Tour for the year, and the only nineteen-year-old player Kanae Sugai has shown potential as a rising star, having chances to win in three consecutive tournaments. However, her performance on the final day was not ideal, finishing with scores of seventy-one, seventy-two, and seventy-three, resulting in tie for second, second, and tie for sixth.