A Rio Takeda (-17) has outgrown her name. Extremely small. The 21-year-old Japanese golfer has claimed victory today at the Blue Bay LPGA, a tournament on the LPGA Tour held on Hainan Island, China. Really, saying she has won is an understatement; it was a complete rout. She finished with the best round of the day, 64 strokes, and won by six over Minjee Lee (-11), seven over Ayaka Furue (-10), and ten, no less, over the fourth place occupied by the young Australian Cassie Porter (-7). Excuse us, but Takeda is not Rio, she is a full-blown tidal wave.
We said yesterday that the Japanese player is here to stay. Indeed. Her numbers are out of this world. Right now, she must be placed on the tier of major contenders to fight for the World Number One spot with Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko in the coming months. This is the trajectory she is on. She turned professional in 2022. She played her first regular LPGA Tour tournament in 2023, when she was only 20 years old, and finished in eighth position. It was the Toto Japan Classic. At home. First warning. The second one she played, again the Toto Japan Classic, she won. That was last year in October. That’s how she earned her American card. Apart from Majors, she has played a total of seven LPGA tournaments, won two, and has three more top 10 finishes.
In 2024, she achieved an astonishing eight victories. Madness. She won seven times on the Japan Tour for women plus the aforementioned triumph at the Toto Japan. She is the new sensation in world golf. That’s nine victories in just over 100 tournaments. Her win percentage is approaching 10 percent. Simply insane. Tidal wave Takeda.
Her first LPGA victory last year already had a very significant symbolic weight. She achieved it after defeating Marina Alex in a playoff. The American announced her retirement shortly after, still very young. It was something like the dawn of a new era. The Takeda era. The most impressive player seen in Japan since the days of Ai Miyazato. Today’s performance is just confirmation that we are witnessing someone very special, capable of coming out in the final round of an LPGA tournament, shooting 64 strokes, with eight birdies and no bogeys, and dominating surrounded by some of the best in the world. Her display on the greens was fabulous. She needed only 24 putts with 14 greens in regulation. Tidal wave Takeda. Remember that name.
Additionally, the final day in China saw the end of Jeeno Thitikul‘s incredible streak. The Thai golfer, completely off her game today, handed in a card of 74 strokes, two over par, and finished outside the top 10. She had nine consecutive top-ten finishes on the LPGA Tour. She never quite felt comfortable on the Blue Bay course in Hainan all week. She made many birdies but also committed many errors in the form of bogeys and double bogeys.
