Michiko Hattori ( ja, 服部道子, born 8 September 1968) is a Japanese

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

and former Player of the Year on the

LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association. It is the second richest women's golf tour in the world. The U.S.-based LPGA Tour is the most important women's tour, but ...

. Before turning professional, she became the first Japanese born champion of the U.S. Women's Amateur.

Amateur career

Hattori was among the most decorated amateur and collegiate golfers in history. At age 16 in 1985 she became the third youngest, and only Japanese born, champion of the U.S. Women's Amateur, and in 1986 became the first golfer to win medalist honors at the U.S. Women's Amateur and

U.S. Girls' Junior The United States Girls' Junior Championship is one of the thirteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. It is open to amateur girls who are under 19 on the last day of the competition and have a USGA ha ...

in the same year. Hattori is a three-time U.S. Women's Amateur

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

medalist (1985–1987), and the youngest ever winner of the Japan Women's Amateur Championship (age 14). She won three Japan Women's Amateur titles and the 1988

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901 at ...

. She is one of 12 foreign winners of the U.S Women's Amateur in its 115-year history, and one of 11 golfers to have won the title on their first attempt. She is one of six to have won U.S. Amateur medalist honors three or more times, and the only golfer to have done so for the past 70 years. Hattori lead Japan to four consecutive top-5 finishes at the IGF World Amateur Team Championships

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fre ...

, the country's best ever performances in the bi-annual competition. In 1987, she won the individual title and led Japan to a team victory in the

Queen Sirikit Cup The Queen Sirikit Cup, officially the Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship, is an annual amateur team golf championship for women organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. The inaugural event was held in 1979. The event is na ...

, a prestigious annual competition between Asian nations; other former individual winners of the cup include Hiromi Kobayashi and

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

members to be

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and

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. Hattori had a storied collegiate career at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where she won 10 individual titles and was twice named Collegiate Golfer of the Year. She was the 1990 recipient of the Honda-Broderick Award for Golf. Among her achievements was finishing in the top ten in 38 of 40 events in which she competed during her four years at Texas, including three individual top-ten finishes at the

NCAA Women's Golf Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, played in the month of May, is the annual competition in women's collegiate golf for individuals and teams from universities in Division I. Golf was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA cha ...

(tied for 1st at the end of regulation in 1989; lost in playoff).

Professional career

In her first season as a professional, Hattori recorded 11 top-10 finishes and placed 8th on the money list on her way to being named the 1992 Japan LPGA Rookie of the Year. She won three times with 15 top-10s in her second season on tour (1993), and in 1998 won five titles, including the

Japan LPGA Championship , is the one of the longest running tournament in the history of the LPGA of Japan Tour, Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association, surpassed only by Japan Women's Open Golf Championship, Japan Women's Open. It is one of four majors on the LPGA of ...

, and placed second three times. She was named the JLPGA Player of the Year and won the season-ending money title. Her most recent win was the Studio Alice Women's Open in 2005. Hattori has won 18 Japan LPGA titles and finished in the top three on tour 56 times; she boasts career totals of 150 top-10 and 300 top-25 finishes through the end of the 2008 season. She has finished in the top-10 on the JLPGA money list seven times, and placed in the top-25 for fifteen consecutive seasons (1992–2006). Among Hattori's professional wins are two

Japan Women's Open Golf Championship The is Japan's national women's open golf championship. From 2006 (as of 2011) it is one of the two richest tournaments on the LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professi ...

s, the Japan LPGA Championship, and two

Fujitsu Ladies The Fujitsu Ladies is an annual golf tournament for professional female golfers on LPGA of Japan Tour. It is generally played in October and in recent years at the Tokyu Seven Hundred Club, Chiba, Chiba. It was founded in 1983. Winners *2022 ...

Open titles. She is also winner of the 1998

IDC Otsuka Ladies The Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies Golf Tournament is an annual golf tournament for professional female golfers on LPGA of Japan Tour. It is usually played in October and in recent years at the Musashigaoka Golf Course, Hannō, Saitama. ...

Championship, succeeding 1997 winner

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 inter ...

Amateur wins

*1984 Japan Women's Amateur *1985 Japan Women's Amateur, U.S. Women's Amateur *1987

(individual and team) *1988 Japan Women's Amateur,

Professional wins (18)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (18)

*1993 (3) Mizuno Ladies Open, Yukijirushi Ladies Tokai Classic, Itoki Classic *1994 (2)

, Yukijirushi Ladies Tokai Classic *1997 (2) Goyo Kenetsu Ladies Cup, Miyagi TV Cup *1998 (5)

Saishunkan Ladies The KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Open is an annual tournament on the LPGA of Japan Tour. It was first held in 1992 at the Tamana Country Club in Kumamoto Prefecture. Winners KKT Cup Vantelin Ladies Open *2023 Akie Iwai *2022 Nozomi Uetake *2021 ...

, Nasu Ogawa Ladies,

Japan LPGA Championship Konica Cup , is the one of the longest running tournament in the history of the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association, surpassed only by Japan Women's Open. It is one of four majors on the LPGA of Japan Tour. Winners See also * Japan Golf Associa ...

Hisako Higuchi Kibun Classic The Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies Golf Tournament is an annual golf tournament for professional female golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as f ...

, Itoen Ladies Open *1999 (1)

*2001 (1) Suntory Ladies Open *2003 (2) Kosaido Ladies Golf Cup,

*2004 (1)

*2005 (1) Studio Alice Women's Open Tournament in bold denotes major championships in LPGA of Japan Tour.

Awards

Japan LPGA history

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Japan):

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

References

External links

*
Biography at USGA 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattori, Michiko Japanese female golfers Texas Longhorns women's golfers LPGA of Japan Tour golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships Sportspeople from Aichi Prefecture People from Nisshin, Aichi 1968 births Living people