Eight-time champion leads after opening round
29 October 2026 marked the start of the 33rd Japan Women's Senior Golf Championship, organised by the Japan Golf Association (JGA) at Tojigaoka Marine Hills Golf Club in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture. The national championship is contested by women amateur golfers aged 50 or older.
Itsuko Miki (三木逸子), 68, opened with 70 strokes, two under par (−2), and holds the outright lead after 18 holes. Miki has already won this particular championship eight times. Her opening round contained three birdies and one bogey, a net gain of two strokes against par. She is pursuing a ninth crown, not celebrating one yet.
Nobuko Hiramatsu (平松宣子) is alone in second place at 71 (−1), just one shot back. Emi Ogata (緒方恵美) and Miyuki Mitsuyama (光山美由紀) share third at 74 (+2). Those figures are from the JGA's completed first-round leaderboard, not projected final results.
Defending champion faces a difficult recovery
Reigning champion Hiromi Nishishita (西下裕美) opened with 80 (+8) and sits tied for 32nd, ten strokes behind Miki. Hiroko Ouga (近賀博子), another former winner, recorded 76 (+4) and shares eighth.
Miki's standing is especially notable because she is competing for a ninth title in a championship she has dominated for years. Yet the narrow lead over Hiramatsu leaves genuine uncertainty heading into the final round. One good round has not settled the trophy.
A national amateur test above the Seto Inland Sea
The field consists of 118 competitors drawn from regional senior women's championships and previous national performers. The competition uses 36-hole individual stroke play, with 18 holes on 29 October and another 18 scheduled for 30 October. The tournament course measures 5,884 yards, par 72.
Opened in 1992, Tojigaoka Marine Hills Golf Club overlooks the Seto Inland Sea from 14 of its 18 holes, according to JGA. It also has wider Japanese golf history: a young Ryo Ishikawa won a professional event here as an amateur in 2007, and the venue staged the Japan Women's Amateur Championship in 2013.
The second round is scheduled for 30 October, with the first groups due off at 7:45 a.m. Japan time. This report covers the 29 October first-round standings only; a final champion had not been declared in the cited JGA report.
Sources: JGA's 29 October championship report and official leaderboard, JGA championship schedule, and JGA player profile for Itsuko Miki.
