Player Profile: Mika Miyazato

On Sunday Japan's Mika Miyazato won her first LPGA title at the 2012 Safeway Classic. This week's player profile introduces golf fans to this talented young player who is making her mark on Women's golf.

Miyazato was born in 1989 in Okinawa, Japan. Growing up in a prosperous nation that considers golf an excellent pass-time, Miyazato had the opportunity to hone her skills on the golf course as she set her sights on an amateur career as a teenager. When she became the youngest winner of the Japan Amateur Women's Championship at the age of 14, it was clear that the young Miyazato had the potential to pursue professional golf as a career.

After finishing her education and polishing her golf game even further, Miyazato made her professional debut on the LPGA Tour in the 2009 season after a 12th-place finish at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament – she was just 19 at the time.

Miyazato's first season on the LPGA Tour was encouraging, as the young golfer weathered the competition to card two top-four finishes at the 2009 Corning Classic and Wegmans Tournament. In 2010 the young golfer carded five top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour, finishing seventeenth on the money list that year. 2010 also saw Miyazato winning her first professional tournament – the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship.

2011 was a year of consolidation for Miyazato as she continued to perfect her technique on the course. After leading the U.S. Women's Open for three rounds, she finished in fifth place to crown a season that saw her earning over $600 000 on the LPGA Tour.

This season has seen Miyazato approach victory on several occasions, culminating in her first LPGA Tour win on Sunday at the Safeway Classic. As the 22-year-old celebrates her place in the winner's circle, golf fans can look forward to many more victories from this young talent.

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