Ai Miyazato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ai Miyazato宮里 藍 |
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Miyazato at the 2010 Women's British Open
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| Personal information | |
| Born | 19 June 1985 Higashi, Okinawa, Japan |
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Nationality |  Japan |
| Residence | Higashi, Okinawa, Japan |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2004 |
| Former tour(s) | LPGA of Japan Tour LPGA Tour Ladies European Tour |
| Professional wins | 25 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 9 |
| Ladies European Tour | 2 |
| LPGA of Japan Tour | 15 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships |
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| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | T15: 2007 |
| LPGA Championship | T3: 2006, 2010 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T6: 2009, 2011 |
| Women's British Open | T3: 2009 |
| The Evian Championship | T15: 2013 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner |
2011 |
| William and Mousie Powell Award |
2012 |
Ai Miyazato (宮里 藍, Miyazato Ai, born 19 June 1985) is a famous Japanese professional golfer. She played on big golf tours like the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour (JLPGA). In 2010, she was ranked the number one female golfer in the world three different times!
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Early Life and Amateur Golf
Ai Miyazato was born on June 19, 1985, in Higashi, Okinawa, Japan. Golf runs in her family! Her father and both of her older brothers are also professional golfers. Her brother Yūsaku has won several times on the Japan Golf Tour. He even played in the famous 2018 Masters Tournament.
When Ai was still an amateur golfer in 2003, she achieved something amazing. She won a professional tournament on the LPGA of Japan Tour. This was the Dunlop Ladies Open, and she was still in high school at the time.
Becoming a Professional Golfer
Ai Miyazato turned professional in 2004. In her first year on the JLPGA Tour, she won five tournaments! This was a fantastic start to her career.
In February 2005, she teamed up with Rui Kitada to represent Japan. They won the very first Women's World Cup of Golf together. Later in 2005, she won six more events on the JLPGA tour. She was ranked the second-best player on that tour.
When she won the Japan Open Championship in 2005, Ai was only 20 years old. This made her the youngest player ever to win a major tournament on the JLPGA Tour. Many people believe she helped make the JLPGA Tour popular again. Over 32,000 fans came to watch her play the final round of that tournament. This was the biggest crowd ever for a JLPGA event!
In December 2005, Ai went to Florida for the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. This event helps golfers earn a spot on the LPGA Tour. She did incredibly well, finishing 12 strokes ahead of the next player. This was a record for the biggest win margin at the tournament. This win easily earned her a spot on the 2006 season.
Back in Japan, she made history again. On December 15, she played in the Okinawa Open. She was the first Japanese woman to compete in a professional men's golf event in Japan.
LPGA Tour Success
In 2009, during her fourth season on the LPGA Tour, Ai Miyazato got her first big win. She won the Evian Masters in France. She beat Sophie Gustafson in an exciting sudden-death playoff.
The year 2010 was a huge one for Ai. She won four of the first nine tournaments on the LPGA Tour! Because of her amazing performance, she rose to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings on June 21. She held the top spot for a week. Then, she got it back again on July 19.
In August 2010, Ai won her fifth tournament of the year at the Safeway Classic in Oregon. She beat Cristie Kerr and Na Yeon Choi by two strokes. This win helped her regain the top spot in the world rankings once more.
In 2011, Ai Miyazato won the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit. This is a special award for the best player on the tour. She achieved this even though she only played in two events on that tour. This was because the Evian Masters, which she won again, had a very large prize.
In April 2012, Ai won her eighth LPGA event. This was the first ever LPGA Lotte Championship in Hawaii. She won by four strokes. She went on to win her ninth LPGA title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in July 2012.
Ai Miyazato had many endorsement deals with big companies. These included Suntory, Bridgestone Corporation, Japan Airlines, Oakley, Honda, and Mitsubishi Electric.
Her older brothers, Kiyoshi Miyazato and Yūsaku Miyazato, are also professional golfers. She is not related to another Japanese LPGA Tour player named Mika Miyazato.
On May 27, 2017, it was announced that Ai Miyazato would retire from golf. Her last tournament was the 2017 Evian Championship. Ai is known for being the first golfer to reach the world number one ranking without ever winning a major championship. Her best finish in a major was third place three times.
Team Appearances
Ai Miyazato also represented Japan in several team golf events:
- As an amateur, she played in the Espirito Santo Trophy in 2002.
- As a professional, she played in the World Cup in 2005 (which Japan won!) and 2006.
- She also played in the International Crown in 2014.
