Minami Katsu

Not to be confused with Manami Katsu.

Minami Katsu
勝みなみ
Katsu in 2019
Personal information
Born (1998-07-01) 1 July 1998 (age 26)[1]
Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Height1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
StatusProfessional
Current tour(s)LPGA of Japan Tour
LPGA Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
LPGA of Japan Tour8
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT9: 2024
Women's PGA C'shipT41: 2024
U.S. Women's OpenT22: 2019
Women's British OpenT21: 2023
Evian Championship53rd: 2023

Minami Katsu (Japanese: 勝みなみ, born 1 July 1998) is a Japanese professional golfer. She is the youngest winner in the history of the LPGA of Japan Tour when she won the KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Open as an amateur on 20 April 2014 at age 15.[2]

Early life

Katsu was born in Kagoshima City in 1998. She began to play golf at the age of six under her grandfather's influence. She graduated from Kagoshima Municipal Nagata Junior High School in 2014[1] and from Kagoshima High School [ja] in 2017.

Amateur wins

  • 2014 New Zealand Women's Stroke Play Championship,[1] Japan Junior Golf Championship (girl's aged 15–17 division)[3]
  • 2015 Japan Women's Amateur

Professional career

Katsu has eight wins on the LPGA of Japan Tour, including one as an amateur.

Katsu earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2023 season via Q-School.[4]

Professional wins (8)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 20 Apr 2014 KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Opena 66-71-68=205 −11 1 stroke South Korea Lee Bo-mee
2 18 Nov 2018 Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open 71-68-64-65=268 −20 4 strokes Japan Erika Kikuchi
3 5 May 2019 Panasonic Open Ladies Golf Tournament 69-68-67=204 −12 Playoff South Korea Jeon Mi-jeong
4 26 May 2019 Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open 68-62-72=202 −14 2 strokes Japan Yui Kawamoto
5 30 May 2021 Resort Trust Ladies 69-70-69-71=279 −9 3 strokes Japan Mamiko Higa
Japan Momoko Osato
Japan Momo Yoshikawa
6 3 Oct 2021 Japan Women's Open Golf Championship 68-67-69-66=270 −14 6 strokes Japan Mao Saigo
Japan Momoko Ueda
7 31 Jul 2022 Rakuten Super Ladies 65-66-64-71=266 −22 5 strokes Japan Mone Inami
8 2 Oct 2022 Japan Women's Open Golf Championship 72-75-70-68=285 −3 1 stroke South Korea Jiyai Shin

a Katsu won the 2014 KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Open as an amateur.
Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in LPGA of Japan Tour.

Team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. ^ a b c "Profile: Minami Katsu" (in Japanese). Japan Golf Association.
  2. ^ "Minami Katsu wins at age 15". ESPN. Associated Press. 20 April 2014.
  3. ^ "2014 Japan Junior Golf Championship (girl's aged 15–17 division)". Japan Golf Association.
  4. ^ "2023 LPGA Tour Rookies". LPGA. 12 December 2022.


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