Pressel finishes sixth at LPGA Q-school
17-year-old will ask tour to waive rule; Miyazato wins by record 12 strokes
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Ai Miyazato stood over a 30-foot birdie putt on the sixth hole Sunday when a young girl sitting on her father’s shoulders unfurled a poster with Japanese script that read, “Ai-Chan, go for it!”
The pint-sized star needed no reminder at the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament.
She buried the putt for her third birdie in four holes, sending the 20-year-old Miyazato to a record-setting victory that earned her an LPGA card for next year and gave the tour yet another young player worth watching.
Miyazato closed with an even-par 72 — the only time in five rounds she failed to break par — and finished 12 shots ahead of Libby Smith and Lee Ann Walker-Cooper.
It was the largest margin of victory at LPGA Q-school since it began in 1973.
“I’m a little surprised it was this easy,” she said. “But I’m very satisfied.”
No one was more pleased than the horde of Japanese reporters and photographers who followed her every step from the time she got out of her car Sunday morning at LPGA International, until she lifted the flag out of the cup on the 18th hole of the Legends course and posed for pictures.
Miyazato was among 24 players who earned their cards Sunday, a group that included 17-year-old Morgan Pressel. The U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, who was runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open this summer, made birdies on the only two fairways she missed and hit 15 greens in a round of 70.
Miyazato already is the biggest star in Japan, where she won six times this year. Her popularity is so strong that TV ratings for a tournament she won last year were three times higher than the men’s event in Japan that week, which featured Tiger Woods winning wire-to-wire at the Dunlop Phoenix.
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Her swing is long and effortless, and her putting was remarkable all five rounds at LPGA International, where she finished at 17-under 343. Even more compelling is her personality, with a megawatt smile attached to her 5-foot-2 frame and expressive eyes when she removes her sunglasses.
“She is unbelievable,” said Katie Futcher, who played with Miyazato the last two rounds. “She’s so friendly, and you can tell she is very comfortable with her game and very well-grounded.”
Miyazato shared a rice ball with Futcher on Saturday, so the American returned the favor in the final round. She pulled half of a sandwich from her bag as they waited for the green to clear on the par-3 seventh.
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