Momoko Ueda (上田 桃子, Ueda Momoko, born 15 June 1986) is a Japanese female professional golfer who in 2007 at the age of 21 became the youngest player in the history of the LPGA of Japan Tour (JLPGA) to finish first on the money list.[1] She also played on the United States–based LPGA Tour for six years.
| Momoko Ueda 上田 桃子 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Ueda before 2009 Women's British Open | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | 15 June 1986 Kumamoto, Japan | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3.5 in (1.61 m) | ||||||
| Sporting nationality |  Japan | ||||||
| Residence | Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan | ||||||
| Career | |||||||
| Turned professional | 2005 | ||||||
| Current tour(s) | LPGA of Japan Tour (2005−2024) | ||||||
| Former tour(s) | LPGA Tour (2008–2013) | ||||||
| Professional wins | 17 | ||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||
| LPGA Tour | 2 | ||||||
| LPGA of Japan Tour | 17 | ||||||
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |||||||
| Chevron Championship | T27: 2010 | ||||||
| Women's PGA C'ship | T25: 2008 | ||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T13: 2008 | ||||||
| Women's British Open | 6th: 2020 | ||||||
| Evian Championship | T27: 2013 | ||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
Amateur career
editUeda was born in Kumamoto, Japan. She started playing golf at the age of nine, and entered the prestigious Sakata School at ten. In twenty three amateur events, she placed in the top 10 fifteen times, including three wins, and five second-place finishes.[2]
Professional career
editUeda turned pro in August 2005 and won the JLPGA rookies cup that year.[3] In 2006, she placed 4th in two JLPGA events, and tied for 9th in the Mizuno Classic, a joint JLPGA and LPGA event.
2007 was her breakout year on the JLPGA, with five wins, six runners-up, a 3rd and a 5th. Internationally, she represented Japan in the World Cup, and played in the Women's British Open at St Andrews. In April she won the Life Card Ladies at her home town of Kumamoto. She went on to win the Resort Trust Ladies and the Stanley Ladies, and placed 2nd in the Fujitsu Ladies, before winning the Mizuno Classic in November.[4] A highlight of her tournament was a double-eagle during the tournament's final round. She became the tournament's first Japanese winner in nine years and only the 16th non-LPGA member in history to win an LPGA event. Two weeks later at the Elleair Ladies she won her fifth tournament and became the youngest money title winner in the history of the JLPGA tour.[1]
Her win at Mizuno qualified her to play on the LPGA tour in 2008. In her first tournament of the year, the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, she finished fifth.[5]
Ueda again won the Mizuno Classic in 2011. She birdied the 3rd hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat Shanshan Feng.[6]
At the conclusion of the second round of the 2024 Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open on 15 November 2024, Ueda retired from the JLPGA Tour.
Professional wins (17)
editLPGA of Japan Tour wins (17)
edit
a Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
LPGA Tour wins (2)
edit| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (0) |
| Other LPGA Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Nov 2007 | Mizuno Classica | 70-67-66=203 | –13 | 2 strokes |  Maria Hjorth Reilley Rankin
|
| 2 | 6 Nov 2011 | Mizuno Classica | 67-64-69=200 | –16 | Playoff |  Shanshan Feng
|
a Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour.
LPGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 | Mizuno Classic | Shanshan Feng
|
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
Results in LPGA majors
edit| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | T47 | T30 | T27 | T33 | T66 | T41 | ||||||||||
| Women's PGA Championship | T25 | T57 | CUT | T30 | CUT | CUT | ||||||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T13 | T40 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||||||
| The Evian Championship ^ | T27 | NT | ||||||||||||||
| Women's British Open | T7 | T55 | T9 | T22 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T51 | 6 | |||||||
^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
LPGA Tour career summary
edit| Year | Events played |
Cuts made |
Wins | 2nds | 3rds | Top 10s |
Best finish |
Earnings ($) | Rank | Scoring average |
Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T9 | 24,442 | n/a | 69.67 | n/a |
| 2007 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 302,550 | n/a | 72.07 | n/a |
| 2008 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 413,592 | 45 | 71.74 | 23 |
| 2009 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | T2 | 416,333 | 33 | 71.68 | 28 |
| 2010 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T6 | 114,509 | 45 | 71.81 | 31 |
| 2011 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 333,494 | 34 | 72.19 | 31 |
| 2012 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T12 | 210,197 | 58 | 71.85 | 33 |
| 2013 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T27 | 83,283 | 88 | 72.66 | 76 |
- Official as of the 2013 season
JLPGA prize money
edit| Year | Earnings (¥) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 46,751,163 | 13 |
| 2007 | 166,112,232 | 1 |
| 2008 | 54,617,651 | 17 |
| 2009 | 42,380,260 | 21 |
| 2010 | 21,771,999 | 39 |
| 2011 | 35,710,800 | 22 |
| 2012 | 6,383,200 | 80 |
| 2013 | 19,256,000 | 48 |
| 2014 | 74,315,585 | 10 |
| 2015 | 88,731,118 | 7 |
| 2016 | 31,085,815 | 35 |
| 2017 | 101,820,977 | 6 |
| 2018 | 49,337,685 | 21 |
| 2019 | 81,089,991 | 9 |
| 2020–21* | 57,140,302 | 13 |
| Total* | 876,504,778 | 9 |
* As of 13 June 2021
Team appearances
editProfessional
- World Cup (representing Japan): 2007
- The Queens (representing Japan): 2015 (winners), 2017 (winners)
References
edit- ^ a b "Ueda's fifth victory clinches money title". The Japan Times. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Momoko Ueda" (PDF). LPGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Momoko Ueda". Egg Times. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Ueda shoots 66 for 2-stroke victory in Mizuno Classic". ESPN. Associated Press. 4 November 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ "Sorenstam wins 70th LPGA Tour title, ends long winless streak". CBS Sports. Associated Press. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ Momoko Ueda wins Mizuno in playoff
External links
edit- Official website (in Japanese)
- Momoko Ueda at the LPGA Tour official site
- Momoko Ueda at the LPGA of Japan Tour official site
- Momoko Ueda at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site