Latest news with #Chisato
Kuwait Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Akie Iwai joins twin sister as winner with Portland Classic
LOS ANGELES: Japan's Akie Iwai fired six birdies in a six-under par 66 to win the Portland Classic by four strokes and join twin sister Chisato as a first-time LPGA winner in their rookie season on the US tour. Iwai started the day at Edgewater Country Club with a two-stroke lead and never faltered to finish with a 24-under par total of 264. Chisato Iwai was among the golfers trying to apply pressure, charging up the leaderboard with an eight-under par 64, but it was American Gurleen Kaur who finished second after an impressive, bogey-free seven-under par 65 for 268. Former US collegiate standout Kaur, opened with three straight birdies and had four more coming in for her career-best LPGA round. Akie Iwai became the 10th first-time LPGA winner this season and the fifth Japanese player to triumph. She said she'd felt pressure to join the flood of Japanese winners, but even more she was inspired by her sister's triumph at the Riviera Maya Open in Mexico in May. '(She) really inspired me,' said world number 29 Iwai, who was runner-up this year at Thailand and the LA Championship. 'That's why I did my best this year.' Iwai got off to a steady start, with back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth and two more at 11 and 14. She got up and down for par from off the green at 16, then capped her day with another birdie brace, curling in a testing birdie putt at 17 before draining an 18-footer at 18. 'Today I was able to conquer myself,' she said. Her sister, who had been watching the final holes nervously, was the first to rush the green and start the champagne-spray celebrations. 'Just watching, so nervous,' Chisato said as Iwai was coming down the final stretch. 'I'm cheering for her.' But first she had been chasing, and hard. Chisato started the day seven adrift but after an early bogey exploded with eagles at the fifth and seventh - with a birdie at the sixth sandwiched between. She strung together four straight birdies from the ninth through the 12th and rebounded from a bogey at 15 with one last birdie at 17. She finished tied for third on 19-under 269 with Sweden's Linn Grant, who rolled in the seventh birdie of her five-under 67 at 18. Australia's Grace Kim, who captured her first major title at the Evian Championship last month, started the day two shots off the lead and carded a two-under 70 that left her in sole possession of fifth place on 270. — AFP
The Star
18 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Japan's Akie Iwai wins The Standard Portland Classic to join twin sister Chisato as 2025 LPGA Tour Rolex First Time Winner
Akie Iwai of Japan poses with the trophy after winning The Standard Portland Classic 2025 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on August 17, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. -- Photo by- LPGA PORTLAND, Oregon, USA: Japan's Akie Iwai became the 10th Rolex First Time Winner of the 2025 LPGA Tour season with a four-stroke victory at The Standard Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on Sunday. With a four-round total of 24-under-par 264 (67-67-64-66), Iwai joined her twin sister Chisato as a rookie winner in 2025. American Gurleen Kaur finished a career-best second on 20-under-par 268 (65-68-70-65), one shot clear of Chisato (69-70-66-64) and Sweden's Linn Grant (66-71-65-67). 2025 Amundi Evian Championship winner Grace Kim of Australia was sole fourth on 18-under-par 270 (68-65-67-70). Starting the final round with a two-shot lead over Kim, Iwai was the picture of steadiness as she notched six birdies on a blemish-free scorecard. The 23-year-old from Saitama birdied her last two holes to pull away from the pack, picking up a cheque for US$300,000 to take her season earnings past the US$1 million mark. Playing her first season on the LPGA Tour after earning her card with a tied fifth finish at Final Qualifying last December, Iwai had second-place finishes at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April. The six-time Japan LPGA Tour winner watched her sister win in Mexico in May, and has now joined her as an LPGA Tour winner. Iwai is the fifth player from Japan to win on the LPGA Tour in 2025, the most ever in a single season, following Chisato (MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba), Rio Takeda (Blue Bay LPGA), Mao Saigo (The Chevron Championship) and Miyu Yamashita (AIG Women's Open). All are LPGA Tour rookies except for Saigo. 'So many Japanese players won this year, so that inspired me. Everybody played well this year, so everything inspired me to play better,' said Iwai, who is a minute older than her sister. The Iwai twins join Jessica and Nelly Korda, Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, and Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam as sisters who have won on the LPGA Tour. Dating back to 1972, The Standard Portland Classic is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour outside of the Majors. The LPGA Tour will next head north to Canada for the CPKC Women's Open at Mississauga Golf & Country Club in Ontario, where American Lauren Coughlin will seek to defend her title. -- LPGA
RTÉ News
18 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Akie Iwai joins twin sister with first rookie LGPA tour win at Portland Classic
The Iwai twins' incredible season continued as Akie joined sister Chisato on winning on the LPGA Tour as a rookie as she eased to the Portland Classic. Back in May, Chisato came up trumps the inaugural Mexico Riviera Maya Open thanks to a final-round 66 to win by six shots and this time around, her twin also posted a final-day 66 to finish on 24-under par, four clear of American Gurleen Kaur who had been stalking the summit all week. The Japanese golfer went bogey free, finishing with back-to-back birdies to confirm her first win on the LPGA Tour. First to congratulate her was her twin Chisato who finished in a tie for third with Sweden's Linn Grant after a stunning 64 – a score only matched by American amateur Kiara Romero. They are fourth set of sisters to win on the LPGA Tour, joining Jessica and Nelly Korda, Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam.
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Akie Iwai wins Portland Classic to join twin sister as LPGA champion
JAPAN 's Akie Iwai carded a six-under 66 to secure her maiden LPGA victory at the Portland Classic. The win makes her the 10th first-time champion this season and the fifth Japanese player to lift a trophy. Iwai finished with a 24-under total of 264, four strokes clear of American Gurleen Kaur in second place. Kaur posted a bogey-free 65, her best LPGA round, but couldn't close the gap on the steady Iwai. Chisato Iwai, Akie's twin sister, charged up the leaderboard with an eight-under 64 to finish tied for third. Chisato had previously won the Riviera Maya Open in May, inspiring Akie to push for her own breakthrough. '(She) really inspired me,' said Akie, who also finished runner-up in Thailand and at the LA Championship this year. Akie started strong with birdies on the fifth and sixth, then added two more at the 11th and 14th. She sealed the win with back-to-back birdies on the final two holes, including an 18-footer at the last. 'Today I was able to conquer myself,' she said after the emotional victory. Chisato was the first to celebrate, rushing onto the green to spray champagne with her sister. 'Just watching, so nervous,' Chisato admitted as Akie closed out the win. Chisato's round included two eagles and four straight birdies, but an early bogey kept her from contention. Sweden's Linn Grant matched Chisato's 19-under total, while Australia's Grace Kim finished fifth at 18-under. The victory cements the Iwai twins as rising stars in women's golf. - AFP
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Akie Iwai's bogey-free final round earns first LPGA title at Portland
AKIE Iwai fired a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Sunday at Columbia Edgewater Country Club to breeze to the Standard Portland Classic title – the first LPGA win for the 23-year-old rookie from Saitama, Japan. Iwai opened the final round with a two-shot lead, but she birdied three of the final five holes to finish at 24-under-par 264 for a four-shot victory margin over Gurleen Kaur. Iwai joined her identical twin sister, Chisato, as first-time LPGA Tour winners this season. Chisato celebrated Akie's triumph Sunday by greeting her on the 18th green with champagne – repaying Akie's gesture when Chisato won the Mexico Riviera Maya Open in May. "So this year she won, so really inspired me," Akie said. "Yeah, that's why I do my best this year." Kaur, 25, authored a 7-under 65 on Sunday to claim her first second-place finish. She stood at 6-under through 10 holes to put some pressure on Akie Iwai. "I think it just shows I have the capability to win out here," Kaur said. "I was close today. I just need to keep that consistent momentum going and confidence for the future. Yeah, (a) second-place finish is pretty good. I'll take that." Chisato Iwai tied amateur Kiara Romero for the day's finest round – an 8-under 64 – to pull into a third-place tie with Sweden's Linn Grant at 19-under for the tournament. Grant equaled her best finish of the season and turned around recent struggles. She had missed the cut in three of her previous four events. "I think, like, for my mentality, it's just been nice to kind of be able to like see my vision like come alive sort of," Grant said. "Kind of see the shots I'm thinking and actually seeing them happening, too, and be able to, you know, really play with much more joy and more relaxed than the last couple months." Australia's Grace Kim, who started the day two strokes behind Akie Iwai, posted a 2-under 70 to finish alone in fifth at 18-under. India's Aditi Ashok posted a final-round 67 to finish sixth at 17-under. Romero, a 19-year-old University of Oregon junior, solidified her status as the world's No. 1 amateur by finishing in a tie for seventh at 16-under. "It feels great to just play really well (in) my first LPGA event," Romero said. "It was really cool just being out there and just having this big support group behind me and everybody kind of cheering me on and supporting me. Just helped a lot with everything. Made everything so much sweeter." — REUTERS
