The Buick LPGA Shanghai tournament, part of the LPGA women's golf tour, kicks off on Getsuku at Qizhong Garden Golf Club in Shanghai, China, and will be broadcast live daily on WOWOW. Six Japanese players are scheduled to participate, including Minami Katsu and Miyu Yamashita, who were in contention for the championship at last week's Lotte Championship. Ahead of the tournament's opening, the players spoke of their enthusiasm.
◇Katsu Minami
--It's been a while since you competed for the championship in Hawaii. How are you feeling with jet lag and your physical condition?
I'm fine. But I'm a bit jet-lagged... I wake up earlier than usual, but I hope I can get used to it little by little.
--What are your impressions of this course now that you've returned?
The greens are a little different from last year. There's a lot of sand, so I noticed that the ball wasn't rolling smoothly, and I think I had a bit of luck on my side.
--You seem to be in good form, but how do you feel about your shots?
I feel like I'm a little outside-in, and my shot is going left and left, so I want to be careful about that. I think it's probably because the ball is too far or too close, so I want to make sure I adjust my alignment in that area.
--What do you think are the key points to getting to the top?
It's all about luck (laughs). And then it's all about how close you can get to the pin. Long putts tend to bounce a bit, so you'll probably start to worry about how well you're hitting your short putts.
-Finally, please tell us your enthusiasm.
Since there are no qualifying rounds, I hope to keep attacking, and the greens are also good, so I hope to attack the pin hard, get lots of birdies, and hopefully win.
◇Miyu Yamashita
--The Asia Series is finally here, how are you feeling?
This was my second match in China, and the greens were very easy to stop on after playing the course, so I thought it would be a battle of extending my lead.
--It must have been a long journey from Hawaii, how are you feeling, including your physical condition and jet lag?
It took a while to get there, but my condition is not bad, so I'm looking forward to the games starting tomorrow.
-What do you think are the key points of this course?
The inside course has quite a few long par 4 holes, so if I can save par on those, I think I'll be able to play in a good rhythm.
How have you been feeling this week?
My condition isn't that bad, but I haven't been able to get a big score from the first day and finish in the top ranks very often, so I'd like to work on that a bit more.
--The event finally begins tomorrow. Please tell us your enthusiasm.
I want to be able to make good scores starting tomorrow, and I think the final shot will be on the green, so I'll do my best to take advantage of the opportunities and finish off the shot.
*WOWOW will broadcast the Buick LPGA Shanghai live over four days. It will be broadcast live on WOWOW Live every day from noon Japan time, from the first day (October Getsuku) to the final day (October 12th). WOWOW On Demand will stream live coverage of Japanese players' performances using a camera dedicated to Japanese players.
