Baltimore: Sakura Yokomine sank a 15-foot par putt at 18 to complete an astonishing fightback and keep Japan undefeated and atop the field Friday at the LPGA International Crown matches.
Standing 6-down with seven holes to play, Yokomine and Ai Miyazato rallied to split two points with Australia’s Katherine Kirk and Lindsey Wright.
“It feels amazing,” Miyazato said. “We kept making birdies to give ourselves a chance.
“We said we had to keep it going. We didn’t know what was going to happen. We just kept a positive attitude.”
Mika Miyazato and Mamiko Higa also rallied in a 3-and-2 win over Karrie Webb and Lee Min-jee. Webb birdied the third but Higa birdied to win the next three holes and 11 as well in the victory.
That gave lone unbeaten Japan the lead in the eight-team event with two wins and two halves for six points. Thailand were next on five points and Taiwan, South Korea and the United States all had four points entering Saturday’s final four-ball matches.
Spain, Sweden and Australia trail with three points each and need wins as only five teams advance to Sunday’s singles matches. Overall point totals will decide the winner in the $1.6 million showdown for global bragging rights at Caves Valley.
