Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishielectric Ladies 2016 of Japan LPGA tour was held from October 28 to 30, at the Musashigaoka Golf Course in Saitama. The top 5 players of the prize money ranking took part in the tournament, Bo-Mee Lee, Ai Suzuki, Ha-Neul Kim and Jiyai Shin. In the top 5 players of the prize money ranking, only Ritsuko Ryu didn’t take part in this tournament.
In the first round, 4 players shot a 69 and took the first place, Ah-Reum Hwang, Jiyai Shin, Kotone Hori and Teresa Lu（Lu Hsiao-ching）. Lu was married to a Japanese man in this month, so she has been enhanced even in private life.
In the second round, Ji-Hee Lee shot a 68. And her total score was 5 under. Ha-Neul Kim also shot a 68 and her total score was 4 under. Bo-Mee Lee shot a 69 and she was 1 stroke behind Ji-Hee Lee, with Kim. So Ji-Hee Lee took the first place, Kim and Bo-Mee Lee took the second place. Bo-Mee Lee took the 4th place in the last week tournament, Nobuta Group Masters GC Ladies. So she has maintained a good condition. Ji-Hee Lee, Kim and Bo-Mee Lee were same pairing in the final round.
However, Jiyai Shin raised scores in the final round. Shin had taken the 4th place and she was 2 strokes behind the first place in the second round. But she shot a 66 and her total score was 9 under in the final round. So Shin won Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishielectric Ladies 2016. Because she often raised scores in the final round so she has the nickname of the “Final Round Queen”. Shin won the third victory in this season, and It was a total 13 win for her in the Japan LPGA tour. Then Shin became the 2nd place of the prize money ranking.
Ji-Hee Lee shot a 69 and her total score was 8 under in the final round. But Ji-Hee Lee took the second place and she was 1 stroke behind Shin. And Mamiko Higa shot a 68 and her total score was 7 under. Higa took the third place and she was seeded in next year. Bo-Mee Lee took the 4th place and her total score was 4 under. Ha-Neul Kim took the 6th place and her total score was 3 under.
Jiyai Shin ‘s biography is that she’s the age of 28 and she was born at South Korea. She began playing golf from 11 years old and became a professional golfer in 2006. After that, shin won the victory many times in Japan and US LPGA tour, she won the Women’s British Open, the ADT Championship and the Mizuno Classic in 2008. In 2009, She won 3 times in the US LPGA tour and got the prize money queen. And in 2010, she ranked No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings. Ai Miyazato ranked No.2 in this time. After that, she won the Women’s British Open again in 2012.
From 2014, Jiyai Shin has been played only in the Japan LPGA tour. And she won 3 or 4 times every year. Why could she win constantly? First, because Shin played slowly so she was warned in the US LPGA Tour. But the standard of slow playing in Japan is different, she is able to play smoothly. Second, her eyesight was bad and she received a recovery operation of the vision. So she has been played well every time.
This youtube’s video is the interview of Shin in 2016. Her Japanese became very well and she will be active at the Japan LPGA Tour in the future.
