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Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita atop LPGA leaderboard after first round in Japan

Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita atop LPGA leaderboard after first round in Japan | iNFOnews.ca
Nasa Hataoka of Japan plays a shot during the final round of the LPGA Ladies Championship golf tournament at the Pine Beach Golf Links, in Haenam, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

OTSU, Japan (AP) — Japanese golfers Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita each shot 7-under 65 on Thursday to stand atop the leaderboard after the first round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.

Hataoka is looking for her seventh title on the LPGA Tour, and Yamashita is after her third.

Shin Ji-yai of South Korea was a stroke off the lead and three more Japanese — Chisato Iwai, Akie Iwai, and Minami Katsu — were just two shots behind at the Seta Golf Club in western Japan.

Chisato Iwai and Akie Iwai are twin sisters.

In a very tight field, eight others golfers were just three off the pace. This included Minjee Lee of Australia. Lee won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship earlier this year, her third major title.

Defending champion Rio Takeda shot a 1-over 73 and was eight strokes back.

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