Sakura Koiwai

Sakura Koiwai
小祝 さくら
Personal information
Born (1998-04-15) 15 April 1998 (age 26)
Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Japan
Height158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
Turned professional2017
Current tour(s)LPGA of Japan Tour (joined 2017)
Professional wins11
Number of wins by tour
LPGA of Japan Tour11
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipDNP
Women's PGA C'shipDNP
U.S. Women's OpenT9: 2024
Women's British OpenCUT: 2024
Evian ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
JLPGA Rookie of the Year2018
Japan Professional Sports Rookie of the Year2018

Sakura Koiwai (小祝 さくら, Koiwai Sakura) (born 15 April 1998) is a Japanese professional golfer. She plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour where she has 11 victories.[1]

Career

Koiwai was born in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido in 1998 and started playing golf when she was 8 years old.[1] She won the Hokkaido Amateur Championship in 2014 and 2016.[2]

Koiwai turned professional and joined the LPGA of Japan Tour in 2017. In 2018, she recorded four runner-up finishes to rank 8th on the money list, and won the PGA Rookie of the Year award and the Japan Professional Sports Rookie of the Year award.[3]

She captured the 2019 Samantha Thavasa Girls Collection Ladies Tournament for her maiden win on the JLPGA. Her lone victory in 2020 was the Golf5 Ladies.[4]

In 2021, Koiwai recorded four wins and three second-place finishes, to finish 3rd on the 2020–21 money list with over 200 million yen in season earnings.[1]

In mid-2021, she rose into the top-50 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time.[5]

Amateur wins

  • 2014 Hokkaido Amateur Championship
  • 2016 Hokkaido Amateur Championship

Source:[2]

Professional wins (11)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (11)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 21 Jul 2019 Samantha Thavasa Girls Collection Ladies Tournament 66-68-65=199 −17 1 stroke South Korea Lee Min-young2
2 6 Sep 2020 Golf5 Ladies 68-65-66=199 −17 6 strokes Japan Ayaka Furue
Japan Ayake Watanabe
3 7 Mar 2021 Daikin Orchid Ladies Golf Tournament 71-69-66-68=274 −14 1 stroke China Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu
4 21 Mar 2021 T-Point ENEOS Golf Tournament 68-68-70=206 −10 2 strokes South Korea Bae Seon-woo
Japan Ai Suzuki
Taiwan Tsai Pei-ying
5 15 Aug 2021 NEC Karuizawa 72 Golf Tournament 64-34=98^ −10 2 strokes Taiwan Tsai Pei-ying
6 22 Aug 2021 CAT Ladies 68-70-71=209 −7 2 strokes Japan Mone Inami
Japan Kana Mikashima
Japan Sayaka Takahashi
7 29 May 2022 Resort Trust Ladies 69-67-64-71=271 −17 2 strokes Japan Nana Suganuma
Taiwan Tsai Pei-ying
8 9 Oct 2022 Stanley Ladies Honda Golf Tournament 67-67-70=204 −17 1 stroke Japan Kana Nagai
Japan Mao Saigo
Japan Nana Suganuma
9 9 Jul 2023 MinebeaMitsumi Ladies Hokkaido Shimbun Cup 69-68-68-71=276 −12 3 strokes Japan Lala Anai
Japan Erika Kikuchi
10 31 Mar 2024 Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi 66-73-67=206 −10 1 stroke Japan Chisato Iwai
Japan Rio Takeda
11 23 Jun 2024 Earth Mondahmin Cup 70-66-65-71=272 −16 3 strokes Japan Yuka Yasuda

^Tournament shortened due to adverse conditions.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Member Guide: 小祝 さくら" (in Japanese). LPGA of Japan. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Sakura Koiwai – Profile". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Sakura Koiwai". Colan Totte Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Player Bio: Sakura Koiwai". USGA. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Sakura Koiwai Player Profile". Women's World Golf Rankings. Retrieved 30 April 2022.