Team PRGR’s Erina Hara, in just the third tournament of the season, posted great results in finishing tied for 2nd after her 2nd place finish at the opening tournament of the season. The Yamaha Ladies Open at Katsuragi, the third tournament of the season, was held over three days starting from April 3rd on the Yamana course of the Katsuragi Golf Club (6,485 yards, par 72) in Fukuroi City of Shizuoka Prefecture. Hara, who started out the tournament by finishing the first day at one over in 18th place, posted an excellent score of 68 on the second day at the Katsuragi Golf Club, which boasts some of the most difficult courses on the tour. This quickly shot Hara up to one stroke off the lead in a 2nd place tie at three under overall, which put her in great position to aim for her first win of the season.

On one of the practice days, Hara had the shaft of her GN502 Tour Driver (9º loft) replaced. She commented that this reduced spin, which inhibited bending of her shots and further increased directional stability. This eliminated any discomfort she was feeling with her shot and her shot accuracy increased day by day. In addition to her improved shot, her putting touch was also excellent on the second day of the tournament, and this contributed to her posting a personal season-best score of 68.

Hara started the last day of the tournament in the final group. Her putting touch, which had been excellent the day before, did not serve her as well in the final round. Hara stated the following in looking back on the final day: “On the front nine, I wasn‘t able to sink putts of about 1 and 1.5 metres that could have helped set the tone for my round. That maybe gave my competitors a little too much room to breathe. I missed a number of putts of about 1.5 metres. I thought later on that if I could have sunk at least three of those I could have changed the complexion of my round.”

In the end, Hara finished with five birdies and five bogies to score even par for the day, which put her at three under for the tournament. Her chance for her first victory of the season had slipped away. However, in posting another 2nd place finish after finishing 2nd at the tour opener, she definitely raised her profile on the tour. For Hara, who is shooting for multiple victories on the tour this season, her second 2nd place finish in three tournaments certainly points towards her achieving her first victory sometime in the near future. She is definitely a player to keep your eyes on.