On Sunday at this week’s LPGA event, the 2025 Toto Japan Classic, rain lashed the host course, leading to a canceled final round and an impromptu one-hole playoff on a shortened par-5 to decide the winner.
Here’s everything you need to know about the strange ending.
‘Unplayable course conditions’ lead to the cancellation of the final round
Sunday’s final round of the Toto Japan Classic ended shortly after it began. At 10:57 a.m. local time, the LPGA announced that play had been suspended due to “unplayable course conditions” caused by heavy rain.
But two hours later, the rain hadn’t stopped, the course was still soggy and more rain was forecast for the rest of the day.
At that point, tournament organizers made the difficult decision to cancel the final round and officially shorten the event to 54 holes.
The LPGA released a statement on X saying, “After evaluating the golf course and discussing with the golf course superintendent, the course is currently unplayable. The forecast is for continued, occasionally heavy rain. Due to current conditions and the forecast, the decision has been made to cancel Round 4 and the tournament will be reduced to a 54-hole event.”
The statement added, “Official points and official money will be distributed based on yesterday’s 54-hole scores.”
But there was a problem. Two players finished the third round tied for the lead. So the officials decided to stage a rare sudden-death playoff define the sample.
The Toto Japan Classic decided on a playoff for the shortened hole
It’s not entirely unusual for the LPGA either PGA Tour events will be shortened to 54 holes due to weather. In most of these cases, whoever is ahead at the point of 54 holes wins the tournament.
But when the Toto Japan Classic was officially shortened to 54 holes on Sunday, His name was Hataoka and Yuna Araki shared the lead at 15 under.
Because they were tied at 201 hits, a playoff would have to be played to crown a winner. But the course conditions were becoming more unplayable every moment.
To solve this issue, the LPGA came up with a unique idea. The playoff would be held on Seta Golf Club’s long par-5 18th hole. But due to course conditions, Hataoka and Araki would not play the entire length of the hole. Instead, the 18th would be shortened to a par-3 that plays about 130 yards.
In the rain, Araki could only manage a bogey-four on the shortened 18th hole during the playoff. Hataoka, on the other hand, escaped level to officially capture the victory.
With the victory, the 26-year-old Hataoka increased her LPGA career to seven wins. After being ranked fourth in the world, Hataoka should see her current Rolex world ranking of 32 improve greatly.
