Asako Fujimoto Wins First JLPGA Title At 2011 Ito En Ladies As Sakura Yokomine Stumbles On Final Hole

Asako Fujimoto, 2011 Ito En Ladies Winner

Going into the final round of the 2011 Ito En Ladies, Sakura Yokomine had 18 JLPGA wins and won the money title in 2009. Asako Fujimoto, on the other hand, had a grand total of zero JLPGA wins. But with Sakura holding a 2 shot advantage as the back 9 drew to a close, Asako chased the great champion down while Yokomine stumbled.

Sakura Yokomine

With Sakura seemingly only needing to worry about Yukari Baba chasing her, Asako nailed back to back 12 foot birdies on 16 and 17 to tie Sakura-chan at 10-under. The heat was suddenly on and it was Sakura who blinked, hooking her approach shot into the water on 18. The uncharacteristic mistake by Sakura led to a double bogey, dropping her into a tie for 3rd. Asako still needed to finish a knee-knocking 8 foot putt for par to force Yukari Baba to birdie 18 for a playoff. Asako did knock down the 8 footer while Yukari, who was making a furious charge with birdies on 13, 14, 15 and 16, could only manage par on the final hole. Congratulations to Asako Fujimoto on her 1st JPGA victory!