JLPGA: 2019 Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open

In other news, the first of three locations kicked off Stage Two of the JLPGA Pro Test.  The expected names are near the top for this four-round event.  I never heard of Jae Eul Lee ... age 24, played the KLPGA Jump Tour this year, and not particularly well.  It looks like her first year as a pro, which is pretty late for a Korean or anyone else these days.

RANK PLAYER SCORE TODAY 1R 2R 3R 4R TOTAL
1 Yanhong Pan -4 -4 68 68
2T Yiyi Liu -3 -3 69 69
2T Babe Liu -3 -3 69 69
2T Ayaka Furue -3 -3 69 69
5T Hiyo Umeta -2 -2 70 70
5T riko kumakura -2 -2 70 70
5T Akiho Sato -2 -2 70 70
5T Yuka Saso -2 -2 70 70
5T Simin Feng -2 -2 70 70
10T Minami Takaku -1 -1 71 71
10T Kaira Nabeshima -1 -1 71 71
10T Jae-Eul Lee -1 -1 71 71
10T Riri Sadoyama -1 -1 71 71
10T Chihiro Harima -1 -1 71 71
10T Nao Obayashi -1 -1 71 71

Others:

16T Cyd Okino 0 0 72 72

23T Weiwei Zhang +1 +1 73 73

67T Minami Levonowich +5 +5 77 77

76T Kyoka Matsumori +6 +6 78 78

Thursday prep:

This the last chance gas station for Sharon as they're making the second priority re-ranking after this event.

  

Minami Katsu and Chae Young Yoon

  

Hana Wakimoto and Chie Arimura

  

Teresa Lu and Erika Kikuchi

  

Two of the world's best amateurs finished 1-2 at the Stage 2 Pro Test this week:

RANK PLAYER SCORE 1R 2R 3R 4R TOTAL
1T Yuka Saso -4 70 72 73 69 284
1T Ayaka Furue -4 69 69 73 73 284
3 Nao Obayashi -2 71 74 70 71 286
4T Babe Liu -1 69 68 75 75 287
4T Simin Feng -1 70 69 71 77 287
6 Yiyi Liu +1 69 69 75 76 289
7 Yui Noritomi +2 72 69 70 79 290
8 Kanako Ishikura +3 75 72 70 74 291
9T Minami Takaku +4 71 73 74 74 292
9T Akiho Sato +4 70 76 72 74 292

------- CUT at +9 --------

24T Weiwei Zhang +11 73 74 76 76 299

35T Kyoka Matsumori +13 78 73 75 75 301

35T Jae-Eul Lee +13 71 79 77 74 301

61T Cyd Okino +18 72 77 80 77 306

Minami Levonowich +20 77 78 81 236 (cut after three rounds)

Two more locations will conduct Stage 2 on Oct. 8-11.

I spent the morning watching Round One at home.  The pic below describes 90% of the broadcast:  Shibuno & NASA ... with defending champ Ohe bringing up the rear as an afterthought.  NASA's looper in front is Greg Johnston.  If there was a Rolex Ranking only for chipping and short pitches, Shibuno would be #1 in the world.  The only part of her game that puzzles me is her driving.  She's "only" 14th in distance on the JLPGA, which would put her behind a ton of players on LPGA ... considering her size and athleticism, I would have expected better.  Of course, distance isn't everything, just ask AVD and Fassi.   The broadcast showed Ohe (+4) miss a 3-foot par saver at #15 ... she's still using a sawed-off broomstick ... and continues to have the first lousy season of her career.

NASA is seriously good and her Rolex ranking is an accurate reflection of that, but even she could not save par out of this brutal bunker lie at #3.

In other news, Bo Mee Lee will be officially OFF the market on Dec. 27.

Per Google mush, she will marry actor Lee Wan, who doesn't look or sound familiar, but I haven't watched K-dramas in ages.  His sister is a big star, Kim Tae Hee.  Her filmography lists 'Love Story in Harvard' (2004) which I recall watching ... I think a school in Southern Calif. was used for the exterior scenes (the Boston area never looked so warm).