Sakuma Wins Toto Japan Classic for First LPGA Title

Shuri Sakuma won the Toto Japan Classic at Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Omitama, Japan, on Sunday, November 8, 2026, for the first LPGA Tour title of her career. She closed with a bogey-free 8-under 64 to finish at 20-under 268, four strokes clear of fellow Japanese player Aki Iwai.

Six birdies on the back nine

Sakuma started the final round three shots behind the leader, Iwai. The charge came after the turn. She made six birdies on the back nine, including five in a row from the 11th hole through the 15th, and she did not drop a shot all day. A three-shot deficit became a four-stroke win.

Iwai closed with a 71 to finish second at 16-under 272. Sakuma's four rounds were 70, 65, 69 and 64, and the last of them was the round that decided the tournament.

A home win with a tour card attached

Sakuma is 23 years old. She had won eight times before on the LPGA of Japan Tour, so winning in Japan was not new to her. Winning on the LPGA Tour was. The victory makes her eligible to join the LPGA Tour, which gives this result a weight beyond one week.

She earned $315,000 from the $2.1 million purse. The Toto Japan Classic is the last of four tournaments on the LPGA late-season Asian swing, and it ended with a home winner who started Sunday chasing the leader and finished it four shots in front.

For Iwai, the day ended in second place after she started it in the lead. For Sakuma, a bogey-free 64 on home ground turned a strong week into a first LPGA Tour title and a clear path onto the tour itself.

How the week built to Sunday

Sakuma's four rounds show a player moving forward all week. She opened with a 70, then shot 65 in the second round, the score that put her in position near the top of the leaderboard. A 69 in the third round left her three shots behind Iwai going into Sunday. The 64 she shot in the final round was her best score of the week by a stroke, and it came on the day with the most at stake. She gained seven shots on Iwai across the final round alone, turning a three-shot deficit into a four-stroke win. Five birdies in a row, from the 11th to the 15th, did most of that work in the space of five holes. Iwai's closing 71 was a steady round. It was not enough against a bogey-free 64.