Miyu Yamashita Eyes Fourth 2026 Win After Blazing LPGA Start

OMITAMA, Japan — Miyu Yamashita is doing it again.

Fresh off a win at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last weekend, the 25-year-old Japanese star opened the Toto Japan Classic with a bogey-free, 6-under 66 on Thursday.

That score put her in a three-way tie for the lead at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course.

She shares the top spot with two fellow Japanese players: Aki Iwai and Sayaka Takahashi.

Yamashita is ranked No. 4 in the world.

She is chasing her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the 2026 season.

She already has five professional wins across three tours this year, including the Sony JLPGA Championship and the Aramco Championship in South Korea.

She also won the 2025 AIG Women's Open.

Her opening round in Japan was a masterclass in precision.

She hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

She needed only 29 putts.

She finished with consecutive birdies to join the leaders.

Those numbers reflect the kind of ball-striking that makes a player extremely difficult to beat, especially when she's already playing with confidence.

But Yamashita is not the only story here.

Aki Iwai matched her 66 after an impressive back-nine surge.

Iwai finished second at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in late September.

She also placed third at the Amundi Evian Championship this season.

Sayaka Takahashi, a two-time winner on Japan's JLPGA Tour this year, also fired a 66 and will have plenty of support from the home crowd.

Just one shot behind the leaders are Minami Hiruta, Fuka Suga and Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn, each of whom opened with 67.

Defending champion Nasa Hataoka sits two strokes back after a 68.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul faces an uphill battle.

She opened with a 2-over 74 that included five bogeys.

Thitikul entered the tournament as the favorite to win for a fifth time this year.

The Toto Japan Classic is the last of four tournaments in the LPGA's late-season Asian swing.

The course measures 6,598 yards.

With 54 holes remaining, the leaderboard is crowded enough that nobody can afford a mistake.

But Yamashita has already demonstrated she knows how to close.

Her bogey-free round Thursday showed the kind of control that wins tournaments.

She is chasing her sixth title worldwide in 2026.