Bogor, Indonesia: Living up to her billing as the top-rated player in the field, Yurina Hiroyoshi helped Japan extend their advantage at the top of the leaderboard after three rounds of the 46th Queen Sirikit Cup.
Having failed to contribute to the team score on the first two days, 16-year-old Hiroyoshi – 16th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) – showed her class on Thursday with a four-under-par 68 at Sentul Highlands Golf Club, the lowest round of the day.
Thanks to that effort and a one-under 71 from Ai Goto, Japan posted a third-round team total of 139 in the event in which the best two daily scores in each three-player team are counted.
Heading into Friday’s final round, Japan has a team aggregate of 23-under 409 and a four-stroke advantage from defending champions Korea.
Also in contention on 416 are Hong Kong, China for whom Queen Sirikit Cup debutant Felicia Hughes starred with a 70, outscoring Arianna Lau (71) and Sabrina Wong (76).
There is then an eight-stroke gap back to China in fourth place, followed by Thailand (425), Chinese Taipei (427), Vietnam (437), Singapore (441), India (450), New Zealand (452), Indonesia (453), Malaysia (461) and the Philippines (462).
In the chase for individual honours, just five shots separate the leading seven players.
Korean Park Seo-jin, two shots clear at the top after a second round 64, struggled on the greens on day three, signing for a 73. With a total of 10-under 206 she now shares first place with Goto whose Japanese team-mate Anna Iwanaga is third on 208.
Hot on their heels are Hong Kong, China’s Lau (208), Chinese Taipei’s Lin Jie-en (209), Korean Kim Gyu-been (210) and Hiroyoshi (211).
With Hiroyoshi, Goto and Iwanaga all producing some outstanding golf over the first three days, Japan, who led by three after 36 holes, are well placed to claim an eighth Queen Sirikit Cup title and a first since 2022.
“We’re in a strong position. We all have to focus on our own performances,” said Goto, the only member of the Japanese team whose score has been counted on all three days so far.
After previous rounds of 73 and 70, it was Hiroyoshi who took centre stage in round three with seven birdies against three bogeys as she displayed the form that enabled her to post four top-15 finishes on the Japan LPGA Tour last year, including a third-place finish in the Japan Women’s Open.
Like Hiroyoshi, Korean Yang Yun-seo found the going tough on the opening two days. But the reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) champion showed glimpses of her star quality in a one-under 71 that contained two birdies and a solitary bogey.
The 18-year-old, who followed up her WAAP victory in New Zealand by finishing fourth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and making the cut at The Chevron Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first Major of the year, said: “It’s been a long three days. I’m so nervous and worried about my putting. The pins were tough today so I played conservatively.
“Korea has won the Queen Sirikit Cup nine times in the past 10 years … and I want to help Korea win once again here. That’s our aim.”
For their part, Hong Kong, China have never finished better than third. But they are not discounting their chances of pulling off what would be a shock win at Sentul Highlands.
Far from being over-awed by being drawn with Hiroyoshi and Yang, 16-year-old Hughes rose to the challenge.
She said: “It was an amazing experience. Being able to play alongside some of the world’s best amateurs is something for me to cherish.
“Being around Arianna and Sabrina is so inspiring. We’ve worked hard and we’re all gunning for a good result. I’m really excited for the final round. We’ll bring the vibes, have fun, stick to what works … and then I think we’ve got a great shot at doing something really amazing.”
Full Team Scores
409 – Japan 135-135-139 (Yurina Hiroyoshi, Anna Iwanaga, Ai Goto)
413 – Korea 139-134-140 (Park Seo-jin; Kim Gyu-been; Yang Yun-seo)
416 – Hong Kong, China 139-136-141 (Arianna Lau, Sabrina Wong, Felicia Hughes)
424 – China 143-141-140 (Li Menghan, Cui Jinghan, Xu Ningyao)
425 – Thailand 148-138-139 (Prim Prachnakorn, Kanyarak Pongpithanon, Ngampan Chantana)
427 – Chinese Taipei 146-140-141 (Lin Jie-en, Hsieh Ping-hua, Chan Pei-wei)
437 – Vietnam 147-146-144 (Le Chuc An, Nguyen Viet Gia Han, Anna Nguyen Le Minh Anh)
441 – Singapore 148-144-149 (Aamiya Koul, Chen Xingtong, Amelie Blossom Ng)
450 – India 149-152-149 (Guntas Kaur Sandhu, Keya Badugu, Ceerat Kang)
452 – New Zealand 150-150-152 (Teresa Wang, Caitlin Maurice, Emma Zheng)
453 – Indonesia 153-153-147 (Bianca Naomi Laksono, Lydia Hawila Stevany Sitorus; Abigail Rhea Soeryo Wiharko)
461 – Malaysia 153-155-153 (Nur Batrisyia Balqis Abdul Ghani, Amberly Zaira Binti Zamri, Nur Diana Syafiqah Abdullah)
462 – Philippines 154-155-153 (Junia Louise Gabasa, Elizabeth Precious Zaragosa, Lisa Sarines)
Full Individual Scores
206 – Ai Goto (Japan) 68-67-71; Park Seo-jin (Korea) 69-64-73
207 – Anna Iwanaga (Japan) 67-68-72
208 – Arianna Lau (Hong Kong, China) 70-67-71
209 – Lin Jie-en (Chinese Taipei) 72-68-69
210 – Kim Gyu-been (Korea) 70-71-69
211 – Yurina Hiroyoshi (Japan) 73-70-68
213 – Li Menghan (China) 71-73-69
214 – Prim Prachnakorn (Thailand) 73-67-74; Sabrina Wong (Hong Kong, China) 69-69-76
215 – Kanyarak Pongpithanon (Thailand) 75-71-69; Yang Yun-seo (Korea) 74-70-71
217 – Cui Jinghan (China) 75-71-71; Chen Xingtong (Singapore) 70-70-77
218 – Le Chuc An (Vietnam) 73-70-75; Xu Ningyao (China) 72-70-76
219 – Chan Pei-wei (Chinese Taipei) 75-72-72
220 – Teresa Wang (New Zealand) 72-72-76
222 – Felicia Hughes (Hong Kong, China) 76-76-70
223 – Anna Nguyen Le Minh Anh (Vietnam) 74-79-70; Ngampan Chantana (Thailand) 77-76-70; Guntas Kaur Sandhu (India) 73-75-75
224 – Nguyen Viet Gia Han (Vietnam) 74-76-74
225 – Lydia Hawila Stevany Sitorus (Indonesia) 78-77-70
227 – Amberly Zaira Binti Zamri (Malaysia) 75-77-75
228 – Ceerat Kang (India) 76-78-74
229 – Amelie Blossom Ng (Singapore) 78-77-74; Aamiya Koul (Singapore) 80-74-75
231 – Keya Badugu (India) 78-77-76; Bianca Naomi Laksono (Indonesia) 75-78-78; Junia Louise Gabasa (Philippines) 77-75-79
232 – Elizabeth Precious Zaragosa (Philippines) 78-80-74; Abigail Rhea Soeryo Wiharko (Indonesia) 79-76-77; Hsieh Ping-hua (Chinese Taipei) 74-75-83
233 – Caitlin Maurice (New Zealand) 78-79-76
234 – Nur Batrisyia Balqis Abdul Ghani (Malaysia) 78-78-78
236 – Lisa Sarines (Philippines) 77-80-79
238 – Emma Zheng (New Zealand) 83-78-77
243 – Nur Diana Syafiqah Abdullah (Malaysia) 79-83-81