Miyazato aims to be number one

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TOKYO: Japan’s Ai Miyazato aims to become the world number one this week, brimming with confidence after winning her fourth US Tour title at the Tres Marias Championship at the weekend.South Korea’s Shin Ji-Yai, 2009 USLPGA Rookie of the Year, snatched the top spot by winning the Cyber Agent Ladies last weekend on the Japan Tour, overtaking Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.

Ochoa, who bade farewell after finishing sixth in the Tres Marias Championship, held the top spot for three years in a row from 2007.

Miyazato, currently ranked third in the world, has a chance to take top place if she wins the World Ladies Championship at the Ibaraki Golf Club this week.

“It’s my ultimate goal. My goal for this season is to win the Player of the Year award, but if I win it, it’s likely that I also become the world number one,” Miyazato told reporters after returning home on Tuesday.

“I have no idea when I can become the world number one, but I’m not very far away if I can keep playing my current golf. First of all, I’m going to concentrate on this week,” added the 24-year-old from Okinawa.

Miyazato said her career path had a lot in common with that of Ochoa.

“Coming from a foreign country, she struggled for the first four years before starting to win titles. It’s similar to my career. When she plays for her country, it gives her people a dream,” Miyazato said of Ochoa, who chose to play with the rising Japanese star in the first round of her final tournament.

Miyazato also won her first US Tour title at the Evian Masters last season, and then won the season-opening PTT LPGA Thailand this year and the HSBC Women’s Champions the following week before winning the Tres Marias.

The 6,655-yard Ibaraki Golf Club course is the longest on the JLPGA Tour, giving an advantage to big hitters, but Miyazato appeared confident she could hold her own.

“It doesn’t matter how long you hit. It depends on how you can keep the fairways and hit the greens. I’m just going to play my own game,” she said. — AFP