Nasa Hataoka Takes One-Shot Lead at Toto Japan Classic
Defending champion Nasa Hataoka moved one stroke ahead after two rounds of the Toto Japan Classic, carding an 8-under 64 on Friday. An eagle on the par-5 17th…
OMITAMA, Japan — Defending champ Nasa Hataoka took a one-stroke lead at the Toto Japan Classic on Friday after two rounds, firing an 8-under 64 that included an eagle on the par-5 17th. Her 12-under 132 total puts her ahead of the field as the tournament reaches its halfway point.
The finish mattered. Hataoka played the back nine in 30, turning a strong round into the lead with one hole left before the clubhouse. She won the tournament last year in a playoff, when rain shortened the event.
Hataoka’s score sets the pace, but the margin remains narrow. Miyu Yamashita sits one stroke behind after shooting 67, while Ana Belac and Fuka Suga are tied for third, two shots back.
For Hataoka, the lead comes at a tournament close to home. She grew up not far from the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course, northeast of Tokyo, and said she valued playing well before the Japanese crowd.
“I don't have a chance to play in front of so many Japanese fans, so I was really happy to be playing so well today,” Hataoka said through an interpreter.
Her round also gives the defending champion an opportunity to build on five top-10 finishes this season. A one-shot advantage is slim, though, with Yamashita close behind and two players within two strokes. That leaves little room for a quiet round as the competition continues.
Yamashita, who won last week’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia, had been without a bogey until the 18th. Her tee shot went left into the fairway, leading to her only bogey of the day and leaving her in second place.
Belac shot 65 to join Suga, who carded 67, in a tie for third. Both trail Hataoka by two strokes.
The Japan Classic is the final event in the LPGA’s four-tournament late-season Asian swing. Ruoning Yin began the swing with a one-stroke victory at the LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 18, after making a four-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole. Yuri Yoshida won the next tournament, held a week later at Pine Beach Golf Links in South Korea, for her first LPGA Tour victory.
Hataoka’s eagle on the 17th lifted her to 12-under 132 after 36 holes.
