Kaori Higo made six birdies on the front nine to pull away from the field Sunday as she marked her full-fledged comeback from appendicitis with a three-shot victory at the New Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ladies.
Kaori Higo throws the ball into the gallery after winning the New Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ladies in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.Higo, who closed within one stroke of the lead after two rounds, fired a final-round 68 on her way to a 7-under-par 212 total at the Daihakone Country Club's par-73 course for her 16th career title and first this year on the Japan LPGA tour.
After carding two birdies and one bogey through four holes to keep her name in a crowded leaderboard, Higo broke away with four straight birdies capped by a tap-in on the par-4 eighth and then parred the next 10 holes to seal the victory.
"After having surgery (for appendicitis) in June, I tend to tire on the back nine. So I wanted to pick up as many strokes as possible before the turn, but I didn't expect I'd have six birdies," Higo said.
Toshimi Kimura tied a tour record with nine birdies and matched the day's low round with a 67 as she charged into a tie for second with overnight leader Ko Woo Soon of South Korea at 4-under 215.
Kasumi Fujii (70) finished fourth at 2-under 217, followed by Nobuko Kizawa (74) at even-par 219.
