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[ODDS and EVENS] Saiki Fujita Makes JLPGA History with Her 7th Hole-in-One

Veteran Saiki Fujita took sole possession of the JLPGA Tour's career record with an ace on the par-3 13th hole at Saitama's Ishizaka Golf Club on April 6.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 12, 2024

Ed Odeven

Saiki Fujita owns the JLPGA Tour career record of seven holes-in-one. (©SANKEI)

Read the full story on SportsLook - [ODDS and EVENS] Saiki Fujita Makes JLPGA History with Her 7th Hole-in-One

In sports, there's really nothing comparable to a hole-in-one in golf, what with an endless array of dimensions and landscapes on different holes at countless courses. It's a unique, thrilling accomplishment each time, as the JLPGA Tour's Saiki Fujita or any casual weekend golfer will tell you.

Heading into the 2024 JLPGA Tour season, an interesting trend had been a part of Fujita's professional golfer biography: From 2007 through 2022, she had notched a hole-in one exactly once every three years. And by making one ace apiece in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019, she approached a record.

At the 40th Fujisankei Ladies Classic on April 22, 2022, Fujita recorded the sixth hole-in-one of her pro career. She did so on the par-3 17th hole in the first round at Kawana Hotel Golf Course in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Fujita, 38, entered the three-round Fujifilm Studio Alice Ladies Open, which started on Friday, April 5, tied with six others (Chie Arimura, Ikuyo Shiotani, Fuki Kido, Hiromi Takamura, Ritsu Imahori and Man Soo Kim) for the JLPGA's all-time lead in holes-in-one.

A New Hole-in-One Record

One day later, Fujita established a new standard.

At Ishizaka Golf Club in Hatoyama, Saitama Prefecture, Fujita made history on the par-3 13th, a 150-yard hole. After her steady swing, the ball catapulted off her 8-iron, flew in the air, rolled for a few feet and then plopped into the hole.

Fujita was delighted.

"It was perfect," she said of her shot on April 6, according to The Chunichi Shimbun. "As the ball was flying," she added, "it felt really good, so I thought, 'Go in, please!' "

It did.

And now, Fujita sits atop the JLPGA Tour's hole-in-one list with seven career aces. The tour was launched in 1968.

Saiki Fujita Achieves a Dream

Fujita expressed joy after accomplishing one of her goals in golf.

"I dreamed of becoming the No 1 all-time leader [in holes-in-one], and I was motivated to do it for the seventh time," she said, according to the Japanese-language Golf Digest website.

Looking ahead, Fujita will maintain an ever-present motivation whenever she plays in a JLPGA tournament: to keep swinging for record-extending aces.

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.