It is not the first time nor will it be the last that a Japanese golfer reaches the LPGA Tour through the Toto Japan Classic, a tournament that closed the Asian swing of the American circuit this Sunday and has been on its calendar since the 1970s. For instance, Mone Inami won in 2023 and secured her card this way. However, this year doesn’t seem like just another Japanese player reaching the LPGA after winning the tournament. Rio Takeda has landed in the world’s best women’s circuit like a bull in a china shop. Mark her name.
Takeda achieved victory yesterday at the Toto after defeating Marina Alex on the sixth playoff hole. She is 21 years old and this is her eighth win of the year on the Japanese circuit. You read that right, there is no typographical error. She has eight victories on the Japan circuit in 2024. She started the year ranked 125th in the world and is currently 25th, a position that will improve after this victory when the rankings are updated this Tuesday.
In addition to those eight victories, Takeda has finished in the top 10 thirteen more times. That is, out of the 28 tournaments on the Japan circuit she has played this year, she has finished in the top ten 21 times. She has also played all the Majors except the Chevron, only missed the cut at the British Open, and made the top 10 at the US Open.
Rio Takeda does not seem like just another Japanese golfer landing on the LPGA Tour. Obviously, it remains to be seen how she adapts to a new life away from her surroundings. She wouldn’t be the first Asian not to fit in and end up returning. In any case, her desire is to play in the United States, and that is already a point in her favour. “I was planning to play the LPGA School in December, but thanks to this victory, I no longer need to,” she explained.
The Japanese golfer could already play the next two tournaments scheduled on American soil, in Florida and Hawaii, before the circuit’s grand finale, although she has not yet decided whether she will join now or leave it for 2025. The problem, of course, will not be the accumulation of tournaments. It seems that Takeda has no qualms about playing as many weeks as necessary. Indeed, her victory at the Toto occurred in her eleventh consecutive tournament played. She hasn’t stopped since the British Open at the end of August.
Remember this name: Rio Takeda.
