OTSU, Japan – Japan’s Nasa Hataoka beat compatriot Yuna Araki in a two-way playoff to win the Toto Japan Classic on Sunday after the final round was canceled due to bad weather, shortening the tournament to 54 holes.
The pair led at 15-under 201 after three rounds at the par-72 Seta Golf Club in Shiga Prefecture, and Hataoka saved a par against Araki’s bogey in the first playoff round to claim the tournament, jointly sanctioned by the U.S. LPGA Tour and the Japan LPGA Tour.
“I’m really relieved to have won (on the U.S. tour) for the first time in three years,” said Hataoka after her seventh victory on the circuit and her first since the DIO Implant LA Open in 2022.
“It really felt like a long time when I was waiting (while play was suspended), but I tried to focus on things I could do. I’ll work hard to win more from here.”
Hataoka led the tournament from the first day after hitting an opening-round 65, while the 20-year-old Araki, who was seeking her second win on the JLPGA tour, also had a 65 in the third round to join Hataoka at the top heading into the last day.
This year’s British Open winner Miyu Yamashita was a stroke back at 14-under, but the rain dashed her chance of winning back-to-back tour events following her triumph at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
