[Photo: Lintao Zhang]
After three rounds, Nasa Hataoka and Yuna Araki shared the lead at the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic, a position Hataoka is familiar with. She led this tournament after 54 holes in both 2023 and 2018, and converted the win in 2018.
But as play began on the final day, it became clear that the field would not be able to complete 72 holes. Heavy rains poured down on Seta Golf Course, abruptly ending the final round early. The holes played were scrubbed, and Hataoka and Araki went to a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner. Hataoka won on the first playoff hole.
The win was Hataoka’s seventh on the LPGA. And though she’s a proven winner, she doesn’t have a glowing playoff record. She has now played in four in her career – the last at the US Women’s Open in 2021 – but this is the first time she walked away the victory.
She and Araki went to the 18th hole. Though it’s a par 5, they played it as a 118-metre par 3. They needed to move quickly, the course was already deemed unplayable and more rain was coming. Hataoka needed just a par to defeat Araki.
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Hataoka’s win builds on an incredible streak on the LPGA in 2025: She’s the 28th different winner this season, proving the tour’s depth of talent has never been as extreme as it is now. She also becomes one of now six different players from Japan to win on the LPGA Tour in 2025.
This win is Hataoka’s first in more than three years. Hataoka said she’s been working on her putting, and saw it pay off in the playoff. After the round, she said she made putts throughout the week of lengths that she hasn’t seen go in for quite a while. It was a boost of confidence she’ll carry into the final two tournaments of the 2025 LPGA season: The Annika and the CME Group Tour Championship.
Though the Toto Japan Classic was shortened to 54 holes, players still earn official money and points from their finishes.
