Japan’s Chisato Iwai delivered a commanding performance at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open on Sunday, securing her first LPGA title with a dominant final round that saw her birdie five of the first six holes. The 22-year-old from Saitama carded a six-under par 66, concluding the 72-hole tournament at 12-under 276 at the Mayakoba resort.
Iwai’s six-stroke victory over runner-up Jenny Bae matched the largest LPGA winning margin of the current season. South Korea’s Kang Hae-ji finished third with a total of 283.
“I’m so happy,” Iwai exclaimed. “My mentality was so calm every time. It was just calm, good play.”
Her triumph makes her the third Japanese player to win an LPGA event this season, following Rio Takeda’s victory at the Blue Bell in China in March and Mao Saigo’s win at the Chevron Championship last month. Iwai is now the 20th Japanese player overall to claim an LPGA crown.
Having earned her LPGA Tour card with a runner-up finish at last December’s qualifying tournament, Iwai’s win as a rookie comes just five months later. She displayed early dominance in the final round, opening with a birdie and then reeling off four consecutive birdies starting from the third hole.
“Nervous in the morning, but I played the first hole and I was calmed down,” Iwai commented on her composure.
She further extended her lead by adding birdies at the par-three 10th and par-five 13th, reaching 13-under and establishing an eight-stroke advantage.
Jenny Bae, a 23-year-old American rookie who began the day with a one-stroke lead over Iwai, struggled early with back-to-back bogeys to start her round. Her front nine also included a bogey-birdie sequence at the fifth and sixth holes, culminating in another bogey that effectively knocked her out of contention.
Iwai recorded her first bogey of the weekend on the 14th hole. While Bae managed birdies at the 13th and par-three 15th, a bogey at the 17th meant Iwai’s lead only narrowed slightly to seven strokes before Bae closed with a birdie.
“I’m pretty happy with this week,” Bae reflected. “It just tells me that I have a long ways to go but also I’m also getting there, too. I definitely realized that I’ve gotten more patience. I think that’s a really key thing out here, just being able to focus within all the stress and pressure. I think that was really good. So I’m happy. I definitely know what I need to work on for the week off for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to score better at the next tournament.”
