讀後心得

Sakura Koiwai finished second in the women's tournament last year and subsequently won the Yamaha Women's Open. This year, the start of the season has been similar, but she only secured second place at the Miyazaki Women's Tournament. Facing strong opponents, she became a favorite for the new queen title, but was eliminated in the Dainichi Ranflower Women's Tournament. Despite an excellent performance in the V Point Women's Tournament, Sakura Koiwai narrowly missed out on the championship. Over the past three years, she has only achieved five victories, and although she has surpassed some competitors on the prize money list, she is still distant from the queen's throne. In this week's tournament, young player Fuka Suga showcased her potential, but ultimately did not win the championship.

At this time last year, Hokkaido's player, Kō祝 桜, finished second consecutively in the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Ladies Yokohama Tire Golf Tournament and the V Point Eneos Golf Tournament. Then, at the Katsuragi Golf Club in Shizuoka Prefecture, she finally tasted victory by winning the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi. As the season opens this year, Kō祝 桜's situation is somewhat similar, except that the number of second-place finishes has decreased to one, which was at last week's AXA Ladies Golf Tournament in Miyazaki. This week, she returns to the Yamana Course at Katsuragi, hoping to successfully defend her title.

With Rii Takeda, Miku Yamashita, Chisato Iwai, and Akari Iwai participating in the US LPGA events after finishing in the top five last season, Kō祝 桜 has become a strong contender for the new queen. However, in the season's first tournament, the Daikin Orchid Ladies Golf Tournament, she shot a seventy-nine and unfortunately missed the cut. Following that, Kō祝 桜's form gradually improved, finishing tied for tenth in the V Point Eneos Golf Tournament and, last Sunday, delivering a tournament-best round of sixty-five; however, she missed out on winning her twelfth JLPGA title by two strokes to Haruka Kudo, who scored sixty-seven.

The twenty-five-year-old Kō祝 桜 has won at least one tournament each year since 2019, achieving four victories in 2021, and accumulating five wins in the combined 2020-21 season. However, she is currently overshadowed by Momoko Ueda with nine wins and Ayaka Furue with six. With the emergence of Japan's golden generation of female players, Furue and Ueda have begun participating in international events, while Miku Yamashita and Rii Takeda's performances cannot be overlooked, and the Iwai twins are also gradually making a name for themselves. In contrast, Kō祝 桜 has only won five times in the past three years, which has prevented her from becoming a threat to the queen’s throne. Last year, her prize money ranking finally surpassed Miku Yamashita's, but she ultimately lagged behind Rii Takeda by over 90 million yen.

Kō祝 桜 actually had the opportunity to win more victories in the past two seasons, but she has repeatedly finished second, resulting in a record of nineteen second-place finishes in her career, along with three third places, surpassing her championship count. If she aims to compete for the queen's throne, she needs to seize more opportunities.

This week's fourth stop on the JLPGA tour showcases nineteen-year-old Miyazaki player Kō Kaede, who is demonstrating the potential of a youthful prodigy with chances to win in three consecutive tournaments. However, on the final day, her standings were leading, tied for second, and tied for the lead, ultimately finishing tied for second, second, and tied for sixth.