One of the longest-running events on the LPGA Tour schedule gets underway this week with the return of the TOTO Japan Classic. The event is co-sanctioned with the JLPGA, and the field is made up of players from both Tours, including 43 LPGA members and 35 players from the JLPGA. They’ll all be playing 72 holes at Seta Golf Course in the no-cut event for a share of a $2 million purse. Here’s a deeper dive into the five things you need to know about the LPGA Tour’s return to Japan.

ICYMI

On Sunday at the Maybank Championship, Ruoning Yin surged to the top of the leaderboard with a bogey-free, final-round 65 to eke out a one-stroke victory over Jeeno Thitikul for her second win in three weeks on the LPGA Tour. With the win, Yin adds her name to an elite, short list of players to have won at least three times this season, as she also won the Dow Championship team event alongside Thitikul and the Buick LPGA Shanghai in her home country. Other players who have won three or more times on the LPGA Tour this year include Lydia Ko, Hannah Green and six-time winner Nelly Korda. Yin plans to take the next few weeks off on the LPGA Tour before teeing it up again in November at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

The Field

Former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko headlines the field at the TOTO Japan Classic, where, after taking more than a month off from competition, she is making her second consecutive start during the Tour’s swing through Asia. Ko finished 67th in her return to the Tour in Malaysia. This week in Japan, Ko is making her first appearance since 2018, and she will be looking to recapture some of the magic she found there in her last start when she tied for fifth in her first year on Tour. Brooke Henderson is also returning to the TOTO Japan Classic for the first time since 2018, and she will be looking to build off the form she found last week in Malaysia, where she tied for 10th. Haeran Ryu will make her debut this week at the TOTO Japan Classic where she will be working to maintain the incredible consistency she has displayed all season long, as she comes off a third-place finish last week in Malaysia, which was her seventh top-10 result in her last nine starts. Also in the field this week are Jennifer Kupcho and Xiyu Lin, who both own top-five finishes in Japan.

Storied History

The TOTO Japan Classic has been a fixture on the LPGA Tour’s schedule since 1976. And while the annual stop in Japan has taken on a variety of different titles throughout the years, one thing that has always remained has been the impressive players who have been victorious at this tournament. Winners in Japan include Hall-of-Fame members Patty Sheehan (1981, 1988), Nancy Lopez (1982), Pat Bradley (1983), Betsy King (1992, 1993) and Karrie Webb (2006). Annika Sorenstam won a record five consecutive times in Japan between 2001 and 2005. Major champions Stacy Lewis (2012) and Shanshan Feng (2016, 2017) are also winners of the TOTO Japan Classic.

The Race is On

With just three events remaining in order to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship, the Race to the CME Globe is heating up. Upon conclusion of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, the top 60 players in the Race to the CME Globe point standings will qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship.

Six players who are on the bubble and are in the field this week in Japan are Minjee Lee, Leona Maguire, Marina Alex, Alexa Pano, Hinako Shibuno and Mi Hyang Lee.

Minjee Lee sits at No. 52 in the points race and is returning to Japan, where she has twice finished inside the top five in 2017 and 2019 and is well-positioned to solidify her spot inside the top 60 in the Race to the CME Globe with another top finish this week. Maguire sits just behind Minjee Lee at No. 53 in the season-long race and will make her debut this week at the TOTO Japan Classic. Shibuno, who did not play last week, returns to her native Japan at No. 56 in the Race to the CME Globe point standings.

Mi Hyang Lee also did not play last week in Malaysia and comes into the TOTO Japan Classic at No. 58 in the Race to the CME Globe. She’s played well in Japan in years past, where she won in 2014 and twice finished in the top 10 in 2016 and 2017, and another solid showing this week would go a long way in locking up her spot in the field at the CME Group Tour Championship.

Last week in Malaysia, Alex made a critical leap in the standings and jumped six spots to No. 61 in the season-long race, with a tie for sixth finish at the Maybank Championship. She’ll be looking to build on that success again this week to solidify her spot inside the top 60.

While Alex made a jump last week in Malaysia, Pano dropped from No. 61 to No. 63 in the standings after a tough showing at the Maybank Championship, where she ultimately finished alone in 72nd.

Players to Watch

Two of Japan’s rising stars, Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo, will be two players to keep an eye on this week at the TOTO Japan Classic. Furue, already a winner and major champion this year at The Amundi Evian Championship, is in the hunt for some of the season’s biggest honors with just a handful of events remaining on the schedule. This year, Furue has racked up nine top 10s in addition to her major victory, and with that consistency week-to-week on the LPGA Tour, she is currently ranked third on the Official Money List. She is also fourth in the Race to the CME Globe point standings and third in the Rolex Player of the Year race. With some of the other players atop the season-long races not in the field in Japan, Furue has an opportunity to make up some ground on her competition.

Like Furue, Saigo has also found success this year on the LPGA Tour. In her rookie season, Saigo has recorded seven top 10s to take the lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race and heads into the TOTO Japan Classic with a 112-point lead over Jin Hee Im. Players receive points depending on their finish, with 150 points going to a winner, so Saigo could be overtaken atop the standings, but she also has a chance to further extend her lead with a victory of her own.

Five Things to Know About the TOTO Japan Classic

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