Darling of Japan in the hunt
Ai Miyazato, at 20 already a massive celebrity, surges to three back at Ginn.
By BOB HARIG
Published April 30, 2006
REUNION - The media room at the Reunion Resort is virtually empty, plenty of room to spread out. That can only mean one thing, and it has nothing to do with reporters clearing out for lunch. Ai Miyazato is on the course.
The Japanese media outnumber their American counterparts nearly 2 to 1 at the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, and they are all here to follow Miyazato, a 20-year-old phenom whose popularity surpasses any male golfer in Japan and approaches that of major-league baseball stars Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.
And it is a bonus that Miyazato is on the leaderboard.
The 5-foot-2 golfer with the megawatt smile, one LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens said makes "you just want to give her a hug," and long, slow swing shot 2-under-par 70 Saturday to give herself a shot at her first LPGA Tour victory today.
If it happens, there will be celebrations all over Japan.
"She is very popular because she says something without hesitation," said Sonoko Funakoshi, one of more than two dozen Japanese journalists at the tournament. "She says, "I want to win. I want to go to America.' And she makes those dreams come true. But people's expectations are getting bigger and bigger."
Miyazato enters the final round of the $2.5-million LPGA tournament three strokes behind South Korea's Mi Hyun Kim. They had gone to the 18th tee tied, thanks to Miyazato's birdie at 17, but Kim, a five-time tour winner, made birdie and Miyazato double bogey by four-putting.
"I have to forget about it," said Miyazato, who speaks English but does formal interviews with an interpreter. "(Today) is another day. I don't feel like it was the end of the world. I have to move on."
Kim was at 205, 11-under par. Miyazato finished 54 holes at 208, followed by Cristina Kim, who shot 69 and was at 210. Karrie Webb (69) and Seon Hwa Lee (72) were the only others with a realistic chance at 211.
Miyazato's finish has been typical of her year. She has just a single top 10 after enormous hype to start the season. She won the LPGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament in December by 12 shots, with some 70 Japanese media there to watch. When she showed up for the first tournament of the year in Hawaii, there were 50 media outlets in attendance.
Back in Japan, she typically wears a hat in public to avoid attention. That is not such a problem in the United States, where she makes her home in Newport Beach, Calif., and she laughed about some of the adjustments she is trying to make, including the language and food.
"I'm amazed at the size of the food (portions) you have here," she said.
As for the media, Miyazato said she has come to accept the daily interaction, including this event, where 10 newspapers, two wire services and two magazines are represented, along with TV stations, Internet sites and photographers.
"I feel it's an honor to have that many people from the media following me," she said. "I try to enjoy it as much as possible."
No Japanese player has won on the LPGA Tour since Akiko Fukushima won twice in 1999, but Miyazato seems destined to end the drought. She won her first Japan LPGA Tour event as an amateur, turned pro in 2004 and won 11 more tournaments over two years.
"She was very competitive when she was very young, since she was 10 or 12 years old," said Funakoshi, who is writing for five Japanese publications this weekend and estimates she will attend about 20 of Miyazato's tournaments. "And she has two brothers (Yusaku and Kiyoshi play on the Japanese men's tour) who are very competitive. That is another reason they get so much attention."
Miyazato began playing at age 4. Her father, Masaru, is a golf instructor who teaches mainly poor children.
Funakoshi said another reason for the big interest in Miyazato is she hails from Okinawa, an island chain south of the main Japanese islands. After World War II, it remained under U.S. administration until 1972, when it was returned to Japan. It is inhabited by many Americans.
"She has talked from the beginning about wanting to come here," Funakoshi said.
Perhaps the greatest example of her popularity? Two years ago she was competing in a women's event the same weekend Tiger Woods was winning the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan. The women's event had double the TV ratings.
"She is this tiny, little, petite thing but she kills the ball for her size," said Cristina Kim, referring to Miyazato's season driving average of 257.9 yards, which ranks 67th. "She has every shot in the bag. Super sweet, cute. She has a huge throng of media coming after her every week. It's outrageous."
Imagine what it will be like if she wins.