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 ...

. She has won six times on the

LPGA Tour 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 ...

and six times 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 ...

Amateur career

Hataoka was born on 13 January 1999, named after the United States space program,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. As an amateur, she won the 2016

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 ...

, a major tournament on the

. She was the youngest player and first amateur to win a JLPGA major. She turned professional after her victory and competed in the

LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

. She finished 14th to earn her

card for 2017.

Professional career

2017

In 2017, Hataoka played on both the LPGA Tour and LPGA of Japan Tour. On the LPGA Tour, she made 9 cuts in 17 events and finished 140th on the money list, losing her card. On the LPGA of Japan Tour, she won two events, including a second Japan Women's Open, and finished 14th on the money list. She again competed in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, finishing first to re-earn her LPGA Tour card for 2018.

2018

Playing almost exclusively on the LPGA Tour in 2018, Hataoka won two events, the

Walmart NW Arkansas Championship The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is an annual women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour in Rogers, Arkansas, north of Fayetteville. First played in 2007, all editions of the tournament have been played at Pinnacle Country Club. ...

and the

Toto Japan Classic The Toto Japan Classic is an annual women's professional golf tournament in Japan, jointly sanctioned by the two richest women's professional tours: the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. It was an unofficial money event on the LPGA ...

, which was co-sanctioned with the JLPGA. Her Toto Japan Classic win took her into the top 10 of the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by eight women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (L ...

. At the 2018 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Hataoka lost in a playoff to Park Sung-hyun. She also finished tied for 10th at the 2018 U.S. Women's Open. She finished the season 5th on the money list and 3rd on the

Race to the CME Globe The CME Group Tour Championship is a women's professional golf tournament, the season-ending event of the LPGA Tour. It succeeded the LPGA Tour Championship, which was played for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2013 the tournament wa ...

2019

On 31 March 2019, Hataoka won the

Kia Classic The JTBC Classic Presented by Barbasol, formerly the Kia Classic, is a women's professional golf tournament in Southern California on the LPGA Tour. It debuted in 2010 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, then moved north for a year in ...

at Aviara, closing with a 5-under-par 67 to clinch a three-stroke victory.

2021

In June 2021, Hataoka started the final round of the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

in sixth place. She shot a final round 67 at The Olympic Club and got into a playoff with

Yuka Saso is a Philippine-born Japanese professional golfer. She competed for the Philippines through 2021, having won the first ever gold medal for the Philippines in both women's individual and women's team event in Asian Games golf competitions. As o ...

. Saso won with a birdie on the third playoff hole. Hataoka won her fourth LPGA Tour title, the

Marathon Classic The Dana Open Presented By Marathon, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1984 and has been played yearly, except in 1986 and 2011, in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Toledo. The tournament is te ...

by six strokes, after 54 holes, because poor weather conditions made the course unplayable on Sunday, 11 July. Hataoka won her fifth LPGA title, and the second time (2018) in the

, at

Rogers, Arkansas Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose corpo ...

on 26 September, by a stroke, after 54 holes. Minjee Lee and

Ji Eun-hee Ji Eun-hee (; ; born 13 May 1986 in Gapyeong, South Korea), also known as Eun-Hee Ji, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is also a member of the South Korean KLPGA. LPGA career Ji joined the LPGA To ...

were tied for second place. She set the scoring record in the 2018 event. She is ranked third for a Japanese golfer in wins. With her $345,000 win, she rose to second place in the money ranking, trailing only number 1 world-ranked

Nelly Korda Nelly Korda (born July 28, 1998) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour, where she has won seven times and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Korda won the Olympic gold medal at the women's individual ...

2022

In 2022, she won the

DIO Implant LA Open The DIO Implant LA Open is a women's professional golf tournament held in Los Angeles, California, United States as part of the LPGA Tour. A new event in 2018, it is played at Wilshire Country Club. In Hancock Park, south of Hollywood and no ...

on 24 April, her sixth win on the LPGA Tour, and the $225,000 prize. Her world ranking jumped six places, from 12 to 6, which is where she ranked at the end of 2021. She had missed the cut in her previous tournament the week before at the

Lotte Championship The Lotte Championship is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It debuted in April 2012 LPGA Tour, 2012 at the Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii. The title sponsor of the tournament is Lotte (conglomerate), Lotte, an indu ...

, but won by five strokes over Hannah Green. She had a six-stroke lead after the 17th hole with a chance to tie the tournament record at 268, but bogeying the 18th made it a 269. With a four-stroke lead going into the final round, her new ball position and swing change that weekend from a new coach, helped her miss only four fairways and seven greens.

Amateur wins

*2015 IMG Academy Junior World Championship, Kanto Junior Championship, Faldo Series Asia Japan Championship *2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, Kanto Amateur Championship, Ciputra World Junior Championship, IMG Academy Junior World Championship Source:

Professional wins (11)

LPGA Tour wins (6)

Co-sanctioned by the

.
Reduced to 54 holes due to weather. LPGA Tour playoff record (0–4)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (6)

Hataoka won the 2016

as an amateur.
Co-sanctioned by the

.
Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in LPGA of Japan Tour.

Results in LPGA majors

''Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

LPGA Tour career summary

* official as of 2022 season *Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.

World ranking

Position in

at the end of each calendar year. ^ as of 27 February 2023

Team appearances

Amateur *

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 Fren ...

(representing Japan): 2016 *

Patsy Hankins Trophy The Patsy Hankins Trophy is a women's amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup, corresponding to the men's Bonallack Trophy. The competition opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific, and the venue ...

(representing Asia/Pacific): 2016 (winners) Professional *

International Crown The Hanwha LifePlus International Crown is a :wikt:biennial, biennial women's professional team golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. Eight national teams of four players each (32 players in total) participate in the match play event. History It deb ...

(representing Japan):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* Amata Friendship Cup (representing Japan):

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hataoka, Nasa Japanese female golfers LPGA of Japan Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Olympic golfers of Japan Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Ibaraki Prefecture 1999 births Living people 21st-century Japanese women