Yuri Fudo rallied from six strokes down on the final day of the Daikin Orchid Ladies golf tournament Sunday to snare her first victory of the season and the 10.8 million yen winner's check with a 3-under-par 213 total.
Fudo, the only golfer to break par in the final round, carded four birdies on the back nine of a windswept Ryukyu Golf Club for a 3-under 69, winning the 2001 curtain-raiser by three strokes.
According to the JLPGA, the 24-year-old Kumamoto native, who led the Japan LPGA Tour last season with six tournament titles, is the first champion to win the opener the following season.
South Korea's Ko Woo Soon, the winner here in 1997, bogeyed three straight holes from No. 14 for a 75, slipping to an even-par 216 overall and missing a chance at a playoff.