Akie Iwai

Akie Iwai
岩井 明愛
Personal information
Born (2002-07-05) 5 July 2002 (age 22)
Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Height161 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
Turned professional2021
Current tour(s)LPGA of Japan Tour (joined 2021)
LPGA Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
LPGA of Japan Tour6
Other2
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT30: 2024
Women's PGA C'shipT32: 2024
U.S. Women's Open74: 2024
Women's British OpenT7: 2024
Evian ChampionshipT10: 2024

Akie Iwai (岩井 明愛, Iwai Akie) (born 5 July 2002) is a Japanese professional golfer. She plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour where she has 6 wins.[1]

Early life and amateur career

Iwai was born in Saitama Prefecture and started playing golf at 8 years old.[1] In 2019, she won the Junior Golf World Cup.

Professional career

Iwai turned professional and joined the LPGA of Japan Tour in 2021. As a rookie she won a title on the developmental circuit, the Step-Up tour, and the JLPGA Rookies Championship.[1]

She had her breakthrough in 2023 when she won three titles and finished second on the money list.[2]

In 2024, she finished top-10 in two LPGA majors, and rose to 26th in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[3][4]

In December 2024, Iwai earned her LPGA Tour card for 2025 by finishing T-5 at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.[5]

Personal life

Her twin sister, Chisato, is also a professional golfer on the LPGA of Japan Tour.[6]

Professional wins (8)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 16 Apr 2023 KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Open 67-70-72=209 −7 1 stroke Japan Lala Anai
Japan Mao Nozawa
South Korea Jiyai Shin
2 17 Sep 2023 Sumitomo Life Vitality Ladies Tokai Classic 63-68-70=201 −15 1 stroke Japan Sakura Koiwai
3 24 Sep 2023 Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Women's Open Golf Tournament 65-69-69=203 −13 2 strokes Japan Mao Saigo
4 26 May 2024 Resort Trust Ladies 68 68-69-68=273 −15 3 strokes Japan Rio Takeda
5 16 Jun 2024 Nichirei Ladies 71-68-64=203 −13 1 stroke Japan Sakura Koiwai
Japan Shuri Sakuma
6 15 Sep 2024 Sumitomo Life Vitality Ladies Tokai Classic 70-66-64=200 −16 1 stroke Japan Miyū Yamashita

Step-Up Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 19 Sep 2021 Sanyo Shimbun Ladies Cup 70-66=136^ −8 1 stroke Japan Hanane Nagashima (a)

^Shortened to 36 holes due to weather

Other wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 10 Dec 2021 JLPGA Rookies Championship Kaga Electronics Cup 69-71=140 −4 Playoff Japan Kotoko Uchida

Results in LPGA majors

Tournament 2023 2024
Chevron Championship T30
U.S. Women's Open CUT 74
Women's PGA Championship T32
The Evian Championship T10
Women's British Open T11 T7
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Source:[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Akie Iwai". LPGA of Japan. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Akie Iwai leads Japan Classic after opening with 9-under 63". ESPN. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Golf: Lydia Ko wins Women's British Open, 2 Japanese share 7th". Kyodo News. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Akie Iwai". Women's World Golf Rankings. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Players Finishing in Positions 1-25 and Ties Earn LPGA Tour Status in Category 15". LPGA. 10 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Golf is starting to see double. Identical twins from Japan, Denmark and Germany are competing". KSTP-TV. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Akie Iwai". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 7 December 2024.