It has been revealed that six "female professional all-stars" will be appearing in a golf competition segment on the comedy duo "Tunnels"'s annual New Year's special "Tunnels' Sports King is Me!!" (TV Asahi, January 2, 2025, 5:00 p.m.).
Team Ishibashi, led by Takaaki Ishibashi, will be joined by Yuka Sasao, winner of the 2024 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship, as well as Ayaka Furue and Haruka Kawasaki. This will be Furue and Kawasaki's first time participating in "Sports King."
"Team Kinashi," led by Noritake Kinashi, will include Hinako Shibuno, the 2019 British Women's Open champion and runner-up in the 2024 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship, Sakura Koiwai, who will be participating in "Sports King" for the fourth time, as well as Reo Takeda, the 2024 Ladies Professional Golf Association of Japan annual champion, for the first time.
Team Ishibashi will also include former Chunichi Dragons manager Motonobu Tanishige, a familiar member of "Sports King," and former Chiba Lotte Marines player Tomoya Satozaki. Team Kinashi will be joined by actors Yutaka Mizutani and Shun Oguri. Oguri seems to have "prepared" himself perfectly for this golf match, and Ishibashi revealed that "he will be using his own original clubs."
After finishing the recording, Shibuno said, "It's always fun, and this year was no different! I'm really grateful that the two members of Tunnels invite me every time. Nori-san is always with the same team and keeps things exciting, and Taka-san is always concerned about my golf, so I always feel the warmth of them. Mizutani-san and Oguri-san are also really kind...I don't usually get to meet these people, so I'm really honored to be able to meet them here every year. Personally, I'd like everyone to pay attention to the ``driver hitting showdown,'' and I really had a lot of fun with the six professional female members. There's a lot to see, so I hope you'll enjoy it until the end!"
