(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 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 8 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. She won the Golf Digest Japan Junior Cup twice.

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. She had her breakthrough in 2022 when she won two titles. In 2023, she won another two titles. In 2024, she tied for 19th at the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open is one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, ...

, and rose to 42nd 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 second 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, Akie is also a professional golfer on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour.

Amateur wins

*2018 Golf Digest Japan Junior Cup *2019 Golf Digest Japan Junior Cup Source:

Professional wins (10)

LPGA Tour (1)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (8)

Step-Up Tour wins (1)

Results in LPGA majors

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

Team appearances

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

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwai, Chisato 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