No. 3: Japan
On paper, most would agree that Japan is probably the strongest team. The story of the last two years on the LPGA Tour has been the consistency and depth of the young Japanese superstars. While they aren’t in the top spot on this list, they have a very strong chance to be the final team standing at the end of the week.
Starting the team off is one of two major champions in 2025 from Japan, Miyu Yamashita, the winner of the AIG Women’s Open. Yamashita is the No. 6 ranked player in the Rolex Rankings, and enters the week in fantastic form. Since the Shoprite LPGA Classic in June, Yamashita has eight worldwide top-10 finishes including that major championship victory. She is one of the favorites to win the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year and has experience representing Japan as a member of the Olympic team in Paris.
Yamashita isn’t the only major champion from 2025 on this team, as Mao Saigo won the Chevron Championship at the beginning of the year. Saigo has cooled from her early strong form, she has just one top-10 finish since the second week of June, but should be well rested after sitting out the start of the Asian swing. Saigo is ranked No. 9 in the Rolex Rankings, was the 2024 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year and has generally shown a lot of consistency in her young career.
Another young Japanese rookie sensation, Rio Takeda, will be joining the team as well. She is ranked No. 12 in the world but isn’t entering with the greatest form that we have seen from her. In her seven tournaments since the AIG Women’s Open, Takeda hasn’t missed a cut, but also has just one top-10 finish, last week at the BMW Ladies Championship. Takeda’s consistency though is well beyond her years and she has won at the highest level more than anyone on this team, with two in the last year.
Finally, we get to the veteran of the team, 25-year-old Ayaka Furue. It is hard to say Furue’s season hasn’t been a disappointment after her breakout 2024 campaign that saw her win her first major championship and finish in the top 10 12 times. This year, Furue has just three top-10 finishes in 21 starts, and while she still makes a lot of cuts, she has missed three more than last season. Still, Furue should be a strong performer and is the only player on the team with experience in this event.
Japan probably will be the heavy favorites to win this event in 2027, I just don’t know if this young team is ready to take it all this season. That being said, the talent level is so high that they have a good chance even with the lack of experience.
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