(born 5 July 2002) is a Japanese

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. She plays on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

and on the

LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association. The tour was founded in 1968. It is the second richest women's golf tour in the world. The U.S.-based LPGA Tour is the mo ...

where she has 6 wins.

Early life and amateur career

Iwai was born in

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

and started playing golf at 8 years old. In 2019, she won the

Junior Golf World Cup The Toyota Junior Golf World Cup () is a junior golf championship held each summer in Japan for national teams of golfers 18 and under from around the globe. Qualifying events are held on six continents to determine the 12 boys’ teams and nine g ...

Professional career

Iwai turned professional and joined the

in 2021. As a rookie she won a title on the developmental circuit, the Step-Up tour, and the JLPGA Rookies Championship. She had her breakthrough in 2023 when she won three titles and finished second on the money list. In 2024, she finished top-10 in two LPGA majors, and rose to 26th in the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

. In December 2024, Iwai earned her

card for 2025 by finishing T-5 at the

LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

Personal life

Her twin sister, Chisato, is also a professional golfer on the

Professional wins (8)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (6)

Step-Up Tour wins (1)

^Shortened to 36 holes due to weather

Other wins (1)

Results in LPGA majors

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2023 Women's British – 2025 Women's PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2024 Evian – 2024 Women's British)

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Japan): 2019 (winners) Professional * Hitachi 3Tours Championship (representing JLPGA): 2023 (winners) Source:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwai, Akie Japanese female golfers LPGA of Japan Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Golfers from Saitama Prefecture Japanese twins 2002 births Living people 21st-century Japanese sportswomen