Ai Miyazato reveals her assessment of the “Golden Generation”: “The level has improved dramatically.

Ai Miyazato said, “If there is a chance to play in an overseas tournament, I hope she will give it a try. Compared to when I was there, I think the level of Japanese players has improved a lot.

The “Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies Open Golf Tournament” was held from June 9 to 12, 2012, with former professional women’s golfer Ai Miyazato (36) serving as the tournament ambassador. The winner of the tournament was 20-year-old Miyu Yamashita, who was born in 2001 and is known as a member of the “New Century Generation. She overturned a four-shot deficit on the final day to win her third Tour event in a row.

Miyazato held press conferences before and after the tournament. She expressed her thoughts on young golfers who have been on the rise in recent years.

She said, “I find the success of young golfers today very interesting. The presence of players like Ms. Saigo (Mao, 20), who has shown her strength with five wins in the first 10 rounds of the tournament, is an inspiration to other players. It is an inspiration for other players. （There are also players like Moene Inami (22), who won the tournament by playing her own golf. There are many different types of players, and it is interesting to watch.

Miyazato, who plays mainly on the U.S. Tour and has been ranked No. 1 in the world, actively encourages the young players of the next generation to challenge overseas.

When you go overseas, the time difference, distance traveled, and other factors make it difficult, which is not the case with golf. However, even in such circumstances, many players are able to stop the ball firmly on the green, and I think their sense of distance is one rank higher than when we were playing. So is the increase in distance.”

He then commented on Yamashita, the winner.

I think Miyu is still a good flyer, but I think it will be important to see how well she can use her weapons in the difficult conditions of the tournament. Looking at her play on the last day of the tournament, she was able to stop the ball well even though the greens were harder than expected, and she was also very committed to her management until the end. He said that his short game is an issue for the future, but he still has a lot of room to grow. I hope that in 5 to 10 years from now, she will have firmly established her game.

Legend talks about the evaluation of the “Golden Generation

From the “Golden Generation,” we are looking at Sakura Kogohi (24), who has won seven majors in total. She is famous for not taking a day off from her game and played in the “Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies” immediately after returning home from the U.S. Women’s Open, which ended on June 6 (Japan Standard Time).

She said, “It is amazing that I keep playing matches without taking a break. When I was active, I don’t think I would have come to Japan from the U.S. to play a match and then come back to the U.S. to play a match right away. I usually take time off. Anyway, I want you to be careful about injuries. When you are young, you tend to go beyond your capacity, so I want to tell them that it is important to take care of their bodies.

This year, Koho left his long-time coach and is trying various things in a new environment. In this year’s tournament, he changed the way he grips the putter and finished in a tie for 8th place.

When you change something, it takes time and it doesn’t always work out,” he said. I think there was some frustration, but I feel like it’s going really well and it’s leading to her new golf game.

She also commented on Hinoko Shibuno (23), who is playing in her first year on the U.S. Women’s Tour.

I feel that she is getting used to the courses on the U.S. Tour. It takes time to adapt to the changes in the environment and travel, so I think the foundation has been laid for her to show her ability.

He applauded the results that she has achieved.

The world of women’s golf has seen a remarkable growth in the young generation of “Ai Miyazato’s children” who grew up watching Miyazato’s successes. Their talents are sure to start blossoming in the world from now on.