Michiko Hattori
Encyclopedia
Michiko Hattori is a Japanese professional golfer
and former Player of the Year on the Japan LPGA.
Prior to turning professional, 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 in the same year. Hattori is a three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur stroke play
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
. 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, the country’s best ever performances in the bi-annual competition, and in 1987 won the individual title and led Japan to a team victory in the Queen Sirikit
Cup, a prestigious annual competition between Asian nations; other former individual winners of the cup include Hiromi Kobayashi
and current LPGA
members Yani Tseng
, Mi Hyun Kim
, Hee-Won Han
and Jeong Jang
. She had a storied collegiate career at the University of Texas, 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
(tied for 1st at the end of regulation in 1989; lost in playoff).
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
, 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
s, the Japan LPGA Championship, and two Fujitsu Ladies
Open titles. She is also winner of the 1998 IDC Otsuka Ladies
Championship, succeeding 1997 winner Annika Sörenstam
.
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
and former Player of the Year on the Japan LPGA.
Prior to turning professional, 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 in the same year. Hattori is a three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur stroke play
Stroke play
Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf. It involves counting the total number of strokes taken on each hole during a given round, or series of rounds...
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
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.-Winners:*2011 Rebecca Lee-Bentham*2010 Sydnee Michaels*2009 Jennifer Kirby...
. 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, the country’s best ever performances in the bi-annual competition, and in 1987 won the individual title and led Japan to a team victory in the Queen Sirikit
Sirikit
Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat , is the queen consort of Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand. She is the second Queen Regent of Thailand...
Cup, a prestigious annual competition between Asian nations; other former individual winners of the cup include Hiromi Kobayashi
Hiromi Kobayashi
is a Japanese professional golfer. She has won 15 tournaments internationally, including four on the American LPGA Tour.-Professional career:Kobayashi turned pro in 1985. She won six titles on the LPGA of Japan Tour in 1989. In 1990, she joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was named LPGA Rookie of...
and current LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
members Yani Tseng
Yani Tseng
Yani Tseng is a Taiwanese professional golfer currently playing on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships and is currently ranked number 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings....
, Mi Hyun Kim
Mi Hyun Kim
Mi-Hyun Kim is a professional golfer from South Korea. She turned professional in 1996 and won 11 events on the LPGA of Korea Tour between 1996 and 1999. In 1999, she joined the LPGA Tour and was named was Rookie of the Year that year...
, Hee-Won Han
Hee-Won Han
Hee-Won Han is a South Korean golfer. She attended Ryukoku University and turned professional in 1998. Han currently plays on the United States LPGA Tour. Her caddie is Jeffrey Snow....
and Jeong Jang
Jeong Jang
Jeong Jang is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is also a member of the LPGA of Korea Tour.Jang was born in Daejeon, South Korea. She started playing golf at the age of thirteen. As a teenager she won the 1997 Korea Women's Open and the 1998 Korea...
. She had a storied collegiate career at the University of Texas, 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
NCAA Women's Golf Championship
NCAA Champions for women's golf:-Division I:-Division II-III combined:-Division II:-Division III:-Team:The following schools have won more than one team championship:*15: Methodist*7: Arizona State*5: Duke, Rollins*4: Florida Southern...
(tied for 1st at the end of regulation in 1989; lost in playoff).
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
Japan LPGA Championship
, is the first-longest running tournament in the history of the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association. surpassed only by Japan Women's Open...
, 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
Japan Women's Open Golf Championship
The is Japan's national women's open golf championship. From 2006 it is one of the two richest tournaments on the LPGA of Japan Tour, with a prize fund of 140 million Yen.Tournament names through the years:*1968-1970: TBS Women's Open...
s, the Japan LPGA Championship, and two Fujitsu Ladies
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...
Open titles. She is also winner of the 1998 IDC Otsuka Ladies
IDC Otsuka Ladies
The IDC Otsuka Ladies, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Hisako Higuchi IDC Otsuka Ladies 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 Sörenstam
Annika Sörenstam is a Swedish-American professional golfer whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer...
.
Awards and Major Titles
| 1987–1991 | 4-Time 1st Team All-American |
| 1987–1991 | 4-Time Southwest Conference Player of the Year |
| 1989 | Golfweek Collegiate Golfer of the Year |
| 1989 | NGCA Collegiate Golfer of the Year |
| 1990 | Honda-Broderick Award - Nation's Top Collegiate Golfer |
| 1993 | Japan LPGA Rookie of the Year |
| 1994 | Japan Women's Open Golf Championship |
| 1998 | Japan LPGA Championship |
| 1998 | Japan LPGA Player of the Year |
| 1998 | Japan LPGA Leading Money Winner |
| 2003 | Japan Women's Open Golf Championship |
Major Amateur Titles
| 1984 | Japan Women's Amateur Champion |
| 1985 | Japan Women's Amateur Champion |
| 1985 | United States Women's Amateur Champion |
| 1985 | United States Women's Amateur Stroke Play Medalist |
| 1986 | United States Women's Amateur Stroke Play Medalist |
| 1986 | United States Girl's Amateur Stroke Play Medalist |
| 1987 | United States Women's Amateur Stroke Play Medalist |
| 1987 | Queen Sirikit Cup Individual & Team Champion |
| 1988 | Japan Women's Amateur Champion |
| 1988 | Canadian Women's Amateur Champion |
Japan LPGA History
| Year | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10 | Top 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 1992 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 21 | |
| 1993 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 24 |
| 1994 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 21 |
| 1995 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 19 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 21 | |
| 1997 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 19 | |
| 1999 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| 2000 | 1 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 18 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 20 | |
| 2005 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| 2006 | 2 | 10 | 22 | ||
| 2007 | 1 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 2008 | 4 | 6 | |||
| Total | 18 | 25 | 13 | 150 | 300 |