Japan’s Inami just wants to have fun in medal chase
SAITAMA, JAPAN - AUGUST 06: Mone Inami of Japan plays a tee shot on the 16th hole during the third round of the WomenÕs Individual Stroke Play event on Day 17 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Kasumigaseki Country Club on August 6, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/IGF)
By Chuah Choo Chiang August 06, 2021 06:38 AM
All week, Japan’s Mone Inami simply headed out to the first tee to “have fun” in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 women’s golf competition.
Come Saturday, the 22-year-old rising star gets a chance to win a first ever medal in the sport for host nation Japan at Kasumigaseki Country Club, some six days after Hideki Matsumaya came agonisingly close to a bronze medal in the men’s competition.
Inami, a seven-time winner on the Japan LPGA Tour, added a third round of 3-under 68 to her 70 and 65 in the previous two days to share third place with Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark, Australian Hannah Green and New Zealander Lydia Ko on 10-under 203.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States leads on 15-under in the race for gold, with India’s Aditi Ashok in solo second on 12-under with 18 holes remaining on Saturday. The final round tee times will begin from 6:30am to 8:23am (local Tokyo time), with officials sending players to the course an hour earlier than third-round play to get out in front of potential bad weather.
“For the past three days I've had a lot of fun and also at the same time I've been able to shoot low rounds, so I would like to continue that tomorrow and have a good time,” said Inami, who made five birdies and two bogeys including a dropped shot on the last hole.
“I had a lot of fun today. The only thing was on the final hole I misread the putt which caused a bogey. But otherwise I had a really good day.”
Inami hopes she can deliver a medal for Japan, saying Matsuyama wished the women’s team the best after he narrowly lost in a seven-man playoff for the bronze which was won by Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan.
“I spoke to him briefly on the day he was leaving Tokyo, I was actually arriving to the city, and he said that because he wasn't able to win the medal on the men's side, he wished us good luck,” said Inami.
Despite the weight of a golf-mad nation resting on her shoulders, there wasn’t any hint that Inami is feeling any pressure in trying to deliver a medal for the host nation.
“The Olympics itself is very fun. I love the atmosphere of the Olympics, the field is great. Not sure exactly which factor to point out which is leading to my feeling of having fun, but it's a very unique tournament, so I want to play with no regret. I think being nervous or being tight doesn't do you anything, so I just want to focus on having fun,” she said.
“I think what really was good for me today was that there wasn't anything that was very poor. Even when I mishit some of the tee shots I think the error was minimal and I was able to hit a lot of fairways. I managed to avoid a lot of rough.”
With a tight leaderboard, Inami is prepared for a close race to the podium, including being involved in a playoff which she holds a 3-0 playoff record on the domestic circuit. “I don't usually get nervous and it's the same for this event,” she said confidently. “It feels like a dream stage. It's actually really fun for me to contend, so I want to focus on that tomorrow."
Korda retains lead while Ashok continues to show grit and determination as her closest pursuer
SAITAMA, JAPAN - AUGUST 06: Nelly Korda of the United States plays a tee shot on the fifth hole during the third round of the WomenÕs Individual Stroke Play event on Day 17 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Kasumigaseki Country Club on August 6, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/IGF)
Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/IGF
August 06, 2021 04:57 AM
So, the long and short of the women’s Olympic golf competition heading into Saturday’s final round at Kasumigaseki Country Club is this: American Nelly Korda and Aditi Ashok of India.
It’s the difference between the two 23-year-olds, leader Korda at 15-under par 198 and second-place Ashok at 12-under 201, that makes this so fascinating. On paper, they arrived there with similar-looking rounds of 69 and 68, respectively. But when they say looks can be deceiving, it couldn’t be truer than in the comparison between the two heading into Saturday’s final-round chase for Olympic gold … and silver, and bronze.
Next in line are four players at 10-under: 2016 silver medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand (66), Japan hopeful Mone Inami (68), Hannah Green of Australia (67) and Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark (70).
Statistically speaking, it doesn’t seem like a fair fight between the two leaders. While world No. 1 Korda is bombing drives and hitting short irons throughout the East Course, Ashok is dinking drives and relying on hybrids to reach a number of holes, with at least five par-4s typically measuring over 400 yards. Korda is averaging a full 44 yards further than Ashok, who is second-to-last in the field with a 233-yard average.
And yet, she makes it work with a keen understanding of her limitations and strengths. She still hit 17 of 18 greens, four more than Korda in round three. And then there’s her putting, the very thing she practiced endlessly when first introduced to the game.
“She's a really solid putter,” said Korda after they played together. “Like she's a sneaky player. She putts incredibly well. She rolls it really nicely and there's this kind of like confidence she has on the putting green. She has some kind of swag on the putting green and she owns it.”
That said, Ashok said she’s actually about 15 yards shorter than normal at the moment and revealed for the first time that she had COVID in May and June.
“I do think it took a little bit of strength out of me. I was never this short. I was always short but not like 50 behind Nelly and 50 behind Nanna,” Ashok said, referring to Nanna Koerstz Madsen, the third Friday’s final grouping.
Which makes her performance this week even more remarkable.
Entering the day tied for second with the two Danes, Ashok spent most of the day as the primary suitor to Korda’s lead, supported by her mother who is caddying in place of her usual looper, her father.
“She's doing great,” Ashok said. “It's funny, this is the best I've played all year.” Asked if her dad is now out of a job, she said, “No, my dad's good,” she said. “He's enjoying watching me on TV and he enjoys listening to Bones (Jim Mackay) commentate on my game. It's funny because he never gets to see me play on TV, he's always caddying. So that's been cool. My mom has obviously done a great job this week.”
Ashok was caught and briefly passed by Imani, but a bogey by Imani on No. 18 and birdie by Ashok on 17 flipped the leaderboard in Ashok’s favor.
After the disappointment of not medaling in the men’s competition after Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama entered the final round one stroke behind eventual gold medalist Xander Schauffele of the USA, the host country’s main medal hope rests with Inami. “I had a lot of fun today,” she said. “The only thing was on the final hole I misread the putt which caused a bogey. But otherwise, I had a really good day.”
All this was happening ahead of Korda, who never lost her lead, though she didn’t have nearly the day she did on Thursday when she tied the women’s Olympic record of 62 and flirted with a 59 before making double bogey on the final hole.
On Friday, she made three early birdies to open a brief five-stroke lead, but after a bogey-6 on No. 8, she parred the remaining holes.
“It was very upsetting that I bogeyed a par-5, there's something inside of me when I bogey a par-5 that I just get so frustrated about because I shouldn't be doing that,” Korda said. “I kept telling myself that there's more opportunities ahead.”
But they never came. “I didn't have a really good back nine, I was kind of spraying it all over the place, I had some testy par putts, but made all pars and I fought really hard to stay in it really or ahead of it,” she added. “I made some mistakes, but it wasn't really easy out there with the positions I was in.”
Korda was obviously hoping to further distance herself from the field, saying, “I feel like that's kind of the goal going into every round is to play the best I possibly can and maybe get a comfortable lead. But that's the thing about golf, once you get a little too comfortable it humbles you when you start making mistakes and you get ahead of yourself. So, yeah, I would have loved to have had -- I mean obviously no one's ever going to complain about a bigger lead going into a final round, but I'm happy with where I'm at.”
But she still has the lead, and the confidence heading into Saturday’s final round, which gets a nice early start at 6:30 a.m. on the 1st and 10th tees to try to beat the predicted heavy rains from a tropical storm headed toward Japan.
But Korda says she won’t play with an additional sense of more urgency.
“No. My mindset is 72 holes so I'm sticking to that,” she said. “I'm trying to give myself opportunities and make them, that's all. I'm trying to stay as present as possible and see how it goes.”
News, Notes and Quotes
Round of the day
Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea fired a bogey-free 6-under 65 for the low round on Friday.
Think about that for a moment – a 26-year-old from Ecuador, where the capital city of Quito has only eight golf courses, just outplayed 59 of the best women golfers on the planet! That’s the Olympics for you, making moments, inspiring others and building memories.
Darquea began the third round in relative obscurity, teeing off from the 10th tee tied for 46th position. By the end of the day, she sat tied for 25th position at 3-under and seven shots back of the current bronze medal score of 10-under.
Her round included four birdies and an eagle at No. 6 – the second day in a row that she posted an eagle 2 at the drivable par-4 hole.
The LPGA Tour member has experience with medals. She represented Ecuador at the 2015 Pan American Games, the 2016 Espirito Santo Trophy and the 2017 Bolivarian Games, winning silvers in the Individual and Mixed Team competitions at the 2017 Bolivarian Games.
In Ecuador, a country of almost 18 million people, golf is becoming increasingly popular, and Darquea is certainly doing her part to assist that growth.
Silver and bronze medalists from 2016 have worked their way into medal consideration
After playing together the first two rounds, the three returning women’s golf medalists from Rio 2016 were pretty much bunched together, well behind leader Nelly Korda entering Friday’s third round. Gold medalist Inbee Park of Korea was 10 back, bronze medalist Shanshan Feng of China nine back and silver medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand eight back.
Ko made the biggest move on Friday, shooting a bogey-free 66 with five birdies to finish in a tie for third at 10-under 203, five behind leader Nelly Korda of the USA. Feng was continuing her rally from Thursday’s 64 on her birthday with an eagle-2 and two birdies, but then double-bogeyed the par-4 11th. A final birdie-3 on No. 17 gave her a 68 and 7-under total of 206. Park, meanwhile, couldn’t get untracked, finished 71—210.
Feng and Ko, at least, built some momentum on Thursday with Feng shooting 7-under 64 on her birthday and Ko 67. Park finished with a par 71.
“They moved the tee up again own that par four so it became a short par-4 and I just hit like a little controlled driver and then I hit it to three feet, I believe,” Feng said of the eagle on No. 6. “And that was my actually my first eagle of the year. I made a lot of birdies but that's the first eagle. So I saved it for the best tournament.
“This is the Olympics,” Feng added, “like fourth or fifth it doesn't matter. Like if it's not top 3, it's no difference. And I believe that we have the best girls here in the world so everybody's going to try to go low tomorrow and somebody will. So hopefully that will be me.”
Ko, meanwhile, could only muster one birdie on the front, but then made four on the back.
“I was just so upset at myself,” Ko said of Thursday’s round of 67 which ended with two bogeys, “because normally I feel like my wedges are some of the most like stronger part of my game and I hadn't hit a single wedge within 30 feet all day yesterday. At one point I got to realize it's going too far or too short or something, but I just wasn't getting a sense of it. And I hit such a great drive down the 18th and I only had like 105 to the pin and I was telling people, you have a 30 feet radius with a gap wedge and I missed that 30 feet, I was like so upset. And, yes, I missed like two, 3-footers, but at the same time trying to 2-putt 60-footers, that's me putting myself in that position is where that is the flaw and not the putting itself.
“I think if I keep putting myself in 60-footer range I'm going to stress out the bits that I need to do to clean up,” she continued. “So I was really upset at my wedge game and I was hoping that like with the way I was feeling frustrated I didn't want that to affect the way I went into today. Luckily, I had a pretty smooth start, but then I missed a 3-footer on 2 and I was like, ‘Not again.’ But I think I just stayed patient and there's so much golf ahead of me. So I just tried to play my heart out and I played the back nine really well today, which was the aspect that I kind of struggled over the last couple days. So definitely nice to I know if issue on that. Hopefully good momentum into the 18 holes we get to play tomorrow.”
Brooke Henderson’s sister holding up despite the heat
Brittany Henderson is sister Brooke’s regular caddie, and is holding up well despite the continued hot conditions that already have sidelined a couple caddies and undoubtedly challenged every one of them. But Brooke said she’s holding up well.
“She's been amazing,” said Brooke, a returning Olympian for Canada, said following Friday’s round of par 71. “She hasn't even complained. So, she's been doing really well. I know not all caddies can say that. I'm pretty proud of her for handling it so well and looking after me after I haven't been playing very well either, she's taking care of the both of us.”
Another week, another Irish pairing
Last week in the men’s Olympic competition, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry played their way into the same third-round group. It happened again in the women’s competition, with Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire playing together in Friday’s third round.
McIlroy shot 67 and Lowry 68, with McIlroy playing his way into the seven-way playoff for bronze and Lowry finishing T22. Meadow and Maguire entered the day with a tougher task ahead for medal contention nine strokes behind leader Nelly Korda of the USA.
Meadow gained one stroke on Korda with a 68 and is 7-under for the tournament, which is still well within range of medal contention. Maguire has a bit tougher task after a 70, leaving her at 5-under.
Okay with a medal?
After shooting a 1-under 70 and working her way into a four-way tie for third at 10-under through 54 holes, Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen was asked if she would be okay with sharing a bronze medal if the final round was not played due to inclement weather.
“I mean if I don't get the chance…,” she said before taking a little time to ponder the question. “I would love to play for gold, but if I don't get the chance at least I have some kind of a medal now, but I think we'll play, I hope we'll play.”
2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals
Date: 23 to 29 November 2021
Houston, USA
Important Documents
Prospectus – Draw Schedule Updated 20 November 2021
Playing System – updated 11 October 2021
COVID-19 Protocols – updated 27 October 2021
Players Lists
Singles: Men – Women (Men’s Singles List & Women’s Single Updated 20 Nov)
Doubles: Men – Women – Mixed (Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles Updated 20 Nov)
Draws & Results
Media
Accreditation upon request submitted to media@ittf.com
Online Entry System
Ticketing Information
VISA Information
Schedule
Practice Schedule
Claudia Herweg Elected New President of DTTB
Claudia Herweg was elected President of the German Table Tennis Association (DTTB). She is the 13th person to hold this office and the first woman since the DTTB’s founding in 1925.
“I would like to congratulate Claudia on her election,” said ITTF President Petra Sörling. “Claudia was the Head of the ITTF Equipment Department and has built a strong team around her. She is a key member of the table tennis family, and we are certain her dedication and leadership will deliver lasting benefits to our sport in Germany.”
“I am looking forward to collaborating with Claudia in her new role. Unity was also one of my campaign’s pillars. I want to unite the membership and engage in discussions with the Member Associations to secure table tennis’s position as one of the world’s leading sports.”
Herweg has worked full-time in table tennis for 30 years including. As an active player, she used to play in the 2nd Bundesliga and worked as a coach with one of the biggest German regional associations.
“We have to improve in many areas, and this can only be done together,” said Herweg. “I feel that unity is essential because we have very challenging tasks ahead of us. Together we are much stronger, and we can better market our incredibly fascinating and diverse sport.”
The five DTTB regional associations with the largest membership proposed Herweg as a candidate. She was elected on Saturday 11 December during the DTTB Annual General Meeting with 204 votes in favour, two against and no abstentions.
Sun sets on Japan, Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto rise to the occasion
Miwa Harimoto unbeaten throughout the whole seven days (Photo: ITTF)
he Land of the Rising Sun, on Wednesday 8th December at the 2021 ITTF World Youth Championships in Vila Nova de Gaia, the sun set on Japan.
Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto won the respective under 15 boys’ and under 15 girls’ singles titles.
Following success against Singapore’s Izaac Quek Yong, the no.3 seed (11-8, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8), Sora Matsushima, the no.18 seed, secured the boys’ title at the hands of Poland’s Milosz Redzimski, the no.17 seed (11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7).
“I thought that it would be tough to win the title before the tournament started, but I played well, and now I’m really happy with the result. In the semi and final, I was able to play really well, so I was happy with that.” Sora Matsushima
Undoubtedly, Milosz Redzimski was very much a player in form. Earlier in the day he had overcome Frenchman Felix Lebrun the top seed and winner of the under 15 boys’ singles title earlier this year at the European Youth Championships in Varazdin (11-8, 6-11, 5-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-6).
More impressive
Impressive from Sora Matsushima it was arguably even more impressive from Miwa Harimoto.
The no.16 seed, she beat Egypt’s Hana Goda, the top seed, to arrest the title (11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-1, 11-5).
“I am really happy with winning all events, it was one of my goals. I knew that Hana is really a strong player because we played doubles. However I could prepare well against her. In the final, I was nervous, I enjoyed playing and could play my best. Thanks so much for holding the event, I’m really happy with being here.” Miwa Harimoto
Earlier at the semi-final stage Hana Goda had overcome India’s Suhana Saini, the no.4 seed (12-10, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-8); in a similarly imposing manner, Miwa Harimoto, the no.16 seed, had prevailed in opposition to Singapore’s Ser Lin Qian, the no.16 seed (11-6, 12-10, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7).
Defeat for Ser Lin Qian but with a degree of honour; she did what previously no other player was able to achieve. She extracted a game from Miwa Harimoto!
Incredible record
The record achieved by Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto in Vila Nova de Gaia is quite incredible and will stand the test of time.
Together they won the mixed doubles, Sora Matsushima partnered Felix Lebrun to boys’ doubles gold, Miwa Harimoto the same in the girls’ doubles in harness with Hana Goda.
Overall Sora Matsushima lost just one match, that being at the semi-final stage of the under 19 boys’ team event against China when losing to Chen Yuanyu (11-4, 13-11, 11-4).
In total, over the seven days of action, the record read 16 matches played, 15 wins!
Staggering
Stunning; the record of Miwa Harimoto is even more staggering.
She guided Japan to gold in the girls team event, winning all five matches in which she competed, then she added a further five in the mixed doubles, three in the girls’ doubles and five in the girls’ singles.
The sum: 18 matches played, 18 wins.
One other fact to note, Sora Matsushima born in 2007 is eligible for the age group next year, Miwa Harimoto, born in 2008 is eligible for the next two years!
One step higher, gold for Steven Roman
Silver medallist two years ago when beaten in the final by Sweden’s Linus Karlsson, for the host nation’s Steven Roman, on Saturday 11th December at the ITTF Para Copa Costa Rica Bicentenario 2021, it was gold.
The 19 year old won men’s singles class 8.
Steven Roman, the men's singles class 8 winner (Photo: Joseph Gil Brooks)
by Ian Marshall
Occupying the top seeded position, he beat Marco Makkar of the United States (11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3), to claim gold, an adversary who was no stranger; the previous day they had met in the initial group phase, Steven Roman prevailing in a similar manner (11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11).
Anastasia Kostenevich, women’s singles class 8-10 winner (Photo: Joseph Gil Brooks)
Success for the highest rated, it was the same in men’s singles class 10; at the final hurdle, Chile’s Manuel Echaveguren, the top seed, overcame El Salvador’s Melvin Muñoz (11-7, 11-6, 11-5).
Top seeds prevail
Likewise in the women’s singles competition, the top seeds prevailed.
In a group organised class 3-5 event, Colombia’s Nelly Sanchez finished ahead of Cynthia Ranii from the United States; in class 8-10, Russia’s Anastasia Kostenevich accounted Jessica Alzate, like Nelly Sanchez from Colombia to seal the title (11-4, 11-8, 11-5).
Minor surprises
Otherwise, to some extent unexpected names claimed gold.
Minor surprises, in the men’s singles competition, both occupying the no.2 seeded spot, Chile’s Maximiliano and Great Britain’s Daniel Bullen claimed gold; a feat also achieved by Chile’s Ignacio Torres, who reserved the no.3 seeded position.
All Chilean finals, in class 4 Maximiliano Rodriguez beat Cristian Gonzalez, the top seed (5-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-1); in class 6-7 Ignacio Torres, after accounting for Colombia’s José Vargas, the no.2 seed (9-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7) secured the top prize at the expense of Matias Pino, the top seed (11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5).
Good form from the Chileans; it was the same from Daniel Bullen; in a group organised class 5 event, he beat Ahad Sarand of the United States (10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 13-11) to complete the event unbeaten.
“I played well. I’m more pleased with my final match because last time I played him it went to five sets and I lost. I feel like I played the way I’ve been playing in training, the hard work is paying off. It feels absolutely amazing to win my first gold medal and there is a lot of emotion for me because I’ve worked so hard and to finally win a gold medal means the world to me. I’m happy with how I turned it around in the last match and I’d like to say thank you to my team mates here who supported me and got me across the line especially when I went 2-0 down. Tthey got behind me and helped me to focus and to win the match. I’d also like to thank Matt Kenny for coaching me here and all the coaches that work with me back home.” Daniel Bullen
Unexpected outcomes
Somewhat different, not amongst the leading names, in the men’s singles, Chile’s Vicente Leiva claimed the class 1-3 title, Colombia’s Julian Chinchilla emerged victorious in class 9.
At the final hurdle, Vicente Leiva beat Costa Rica’s Geovanni Rodriguez (11-4, 11-7, 12-10). Earlier, at semi-final stage Geovanni Rodriguez, had accounted for Great Britain’s Rob Davies, the top seed and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games gold medallist.
“I’m obviously disappointed with losing as it is never nice to have a loss, but I’ve got to keep in mind why I came out here in the first place, just to get back into competition again. I think I achieved what I wanted it to do. The loss will just make me hungry and I can’t wait to get back and start working on what I need to. We’ve got a good stretch now leading up to the World Championships next year and I’m looking forward to challenging myself and seeing if I can get back to where I was before.” Rob Davies
However, the win cannot be considered a major upset, Rob Davies is a class 1 athlete, Geovanni Rodriguez is class 3; there is a substantial difference in the degree of physical impairment.
Repeat success
A worthy effort from Vicente Leiva; it was the same from Julian Chinchilla; as with Steven Roman a repeat success.
On the opening day of play in the group phase he overcame Puerto Rica’s Shaquille Rivera in one of the closest matches in the whole tournament (9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 12-10), before rather less dramatically repeating the performance in the final (9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10).
The team competition now follows, play concludes in San José on Sunday 12th December.
Five ITTF Member Associations receive Ping Pong Diplomacy Recognition
Peace Through Sport Dinner Houston
Five ITTF Member Associations - United States of America (USA), People's Republic of China (China), Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea), and Japan have received the Ping Pong Diplomacy Recognition for their remarkable contribution towards peace-making through table tennis in the past 50 years.
The Recognitions were awarded by the ITTF and ITTF Foundation at the Peace Through Sport Dinner Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy in Houston, Texas.
“Peace is not only the absence of conflict. We would like to recognise the significant role of the five Member Associations in Ping Pong Diplomacy during the last 50 years. Their dedication and effort in using table tennis for peace and understanding make them great role models for all ITTF Member Associations.” Thomas Weikert, former ITTF and ITTF Foundation President.
As the main organisations involved in the original Ping Pong Diplomacy event in 1971 and 1972, USA Table Tennis and China Table Tennis Association were the accelerators behind the friendly exchange that broke a nearly 20 years of no economic nor diplomatic relations between the two countries. Since then, not only have the USA and China kick-started collaborations and friendship, Ping Pong Diplomacy has also become a worldwide known term for creating dialogues and building bridges through table tennis.
In addition, China Table Tennis Association was also recognised for its generosity in sharing its table tennis skills with other countries since 1971.
“As the inspiration of the famous motto Friendship First, Competition Second, we would also like to recognise China Table Tennis Association for traveling all over the world to share their expertise. The first training camp was joined by Australia, Canada, Colombia, England, Nigeria, and many more that were done not only in their home countries.” Leandro Olvech, ITTF Foundation Director.
In the past 50 years, Ping Pong Diplomacy has proven to be more than the Sino-American relationship, it is the platform to unite nations in and through table tennis.
Witnessed by guests including Christopher Nixon Cox and Neil Bush, respectively grandson of President Richard Nixon and son of President George Bush, representatives from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Korea Table Tennis Association and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were also recognised for their courageous act in 1991 to compete as one team instead of against each other despite the ongoing war between the two countries.
“30 years ago at the World Championships in Chiba, Japan, Korea Table Tennis Association and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea showed the world the uniting force of table tennis. Together they were stronger, as the Unified Korea team became the 1991 World Champions.” Leandro Olvech.
The two Koreas joined forces again at the 2011 Peace and Sport Table Tennis Cup in Qatar, and the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden. The ITTF Foundation project One Korea, One Table then became the driving force behind both teams playing together in several tournaments of the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour.
Japan Table Tennis Association has received recognition for its non-dismissible role in the 1971 USA-China Ping Pong Diplomacy and the Unified Korea team in 1991 and 2018. The former Japanese ITTF President Ichiro Ogimura, also known as the Ping Pong Diplomat, was one of the key facilitators behind the first Unified Korea team in 1991. And the Unified Korea team in the 2018 World Championships would not have been able to play if the Japanese national team had not agreed.
“Thank you Japan for being a constant actor in the 50 years of Ping Pong Diplomacy. You remind the world that we are in this together. We are stronger united and with the support of friends, we are able to achieve greater good than on our own.” Leandro Olvech.
In 2018, the Japanese national team took a huge risk by skipping the quarterfinal results of the World Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden and agreed to compete directly in the semi-finals against a stronger team. This has allowed the Unified Korea to play as one team, and thus became another legacy of Ping Pong Diplomacy.
By recognising the contribution of the five ITTF Member Associations towards Ping Pong Diplomacy, we encourage all Member Associations to use table tennis as a platform for dialogues and peace, both on the states and on the grassroots level.
Cornwall Open (Test Event) (Open)
Start: 21 Nov 2021
System: AM (adventure minigolf)
regular walls, no fantasy obstacles, played with minigolf balls
Location: Woodland Adventure Golf (United Kingdom)
Organisers: BMGA
Asarum EB Marathon (Open)
Start: 20 Nov 2021
System: E (eternite, WMF standard)
Location: Asarum (Sweden)
Organisers: unknown
National Putting Tour (NPT) Championships (Open)
Start: 13 Nov 2021
System: PG (putting golf, no regular walls, wide routes to hole, with golf ball)
Location: Palm Desert, CA (United States of America)
Organisers: National Putting Tour
British Adventure Golf Masters (Open)
Start: 31 Oct 2021
System: AM (adventure minigolf)
regular walls, no fantasy obstacles, played with minigolf balls
Location: Mr. Mulligans Sidcup (United Kingdom)
Organisers: BMGA
BMGA British Championships (Open)
Start: 16 Oct 2021
End: 17 Oct 2021
System: AM (adventure minigolf)
regular walls, no fantasy obstacles, played with minigolf balls
Location: Strokes Adventure Golf (United Kingdom)
Organisers: BMGA
Olivia Prokopova Wins Her Third Green Jacket
14 Oct 2021 at 14:14
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - A lot may have changed for Olivia Prokopova since the last time she won the USPMGA Master's green jacket in 2013 but one thing that didn't is her putting in the clutch. With three aces in the final four holes of the 2021 Master's, she closed out the grueling event to become a three-time winner and the first mom to grab the jacket.
Just in the past year, Prokopova got married to fellow putter Wade Sahmel, who finished 11th in the Master's, and saw the birth of their daughter Amelie. It was not the easiest of years though as Amelie was born prematurely and Olivia had various complications during birth, but her focus as a putter and the love and support of her family helped overcome the odds the past week.
The 2021 edition of the Master's was a twelve round competition played over three days and three courses. The first two days saw a third of the field work their way through three rounds each at Hawaiian Rumble, the Pineapple course at Hawaiian Village and the Aloha course. With the best players spread across those courses, there's a lot of mental gymnastics happening to figure out where people are going to land before the whole field comes together for the tenth round at Aloha. This year it was even more so because that round start was moved up due to threat of thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday so there was no re-pairing during that round. It wouldn't be until the end of the tenth round where we would see how the field shook out from the week.
At that point, Prokopova, who had started the tournament on the hardest of the three courses, Pineapple, trailed by two strokes to Joey Graybeal (2109 champion) and one stroke to Rainey Statum (2020 champion). She had kept it tight by posting a 25 on her second round at Aloha, which tied Gary English for the lowest round of the tournament. It would then be off to the races for Prokopova who would post four-straight 30s across Aloha and Rumble.
What everyone didn't know was that the Top 35, who had made the "cut" to play later on Saturday morning for their final two rounds, were in for some weather for those rounds. After adjusting to new carpet on the Rumble course it would now be a case of who could adjust to the carpets speed in rain, a condition which hadn't really been seen much in practice that week. With the top ten only separated by eight strokes and it being a group of accomplished putters and Master's winners, everyone was in for a treat.
The first moves were made in round eleven as Statum would post a respectable 32 but Prokopova's 30 would slide her past him for the top spot as Graybeal carded a 34. It was then a matter of holding on for 18 holes, which was a tough feat as Statum posted an even better 31 in the final round. Once again given the threat of weather, there was no re-pairing for the final round so Prokopova found herself ahead on the course of Statum and Graybeal coming down the final stretch. So when she aced the easier hole one and then the more difficult, with the new carpet, hole 2, the field knew the pressure was on. However, she all but sealed it with an ace on hole 4, which until then had only 7 aces for the entire tournament. When Statum hit a deuce on three it was over and Sahmel got to celebrate with her family. It also clinched the women's title for her and with Graybeal as her doubles partner there was no doubt about them winning that title as well. Statum would finish 2nd and Graybeal would finish in a tie for 3rd with Matt McCaslin who was also inducted into the USPMGA Hall of Fame in 2021. He is the 14th inductee.
Taking the stop spot earned Prokopova $5,500 (~4755 EUR). This year's tournament paid down to 35th, which took home $125 (~108 EUR). Full results and more information can be found at the links below.
Sheridan Hangs on to Win at Matterhorn
24 Sep 2021 at 16:36
Top 8 of the Pro Division
Canton, Connecticut - In the 5th year of his organization, The Putting Penguin, running the Matterhorn International Pro-Am, Pat Sheridan pushed his way up the leaderboard, outlasted the competition and grabbed his first win at the tournament. It was a beautiful September day as 18 pros and 20 amateurs teed up for the tournament looking to see if they could best a course known for its scant aces and handful of daunting holes. This year the pro division had been reduced from five rounds to three rounds and everyone knew this meant scores would be tight and every mistake would stand out.
Sheridan was up against some formidable competition that day as two of the past winners, Mark "Highlighter" Novicki and Justin Seymour, who was also coming off wins in Maine and Maryland, as well as local young-gun Jonah Hurley all were in the field. Seymour, Hurley and Sheridan would all come off the tee box strong, carding 38s in the first round. Dave Vayda, new to the tournament in 2021, also carded a 38 in the first round. The scores remained hot as the weather warmed up with Matt Liles joining the 38 club in the 2nd round while Hurley and Sheridan matched. This set up an intense final round with Sheridan and Hurley matched at 76, Seymour at 77 and Liles at 78. Randy Rice and Jacob Yale weren't far behind with 79s. In the 3rd round, Sheridan would sneak out to a 2 stroke lead at one point having gotten through the front nine with all twos. Seymour had slipped leaving a showdown between Sheridan, Hurley and Liles. Two bad mistakes left Hurley and Sheridan tied going into the 18th hole, a long and tough par 3 that Hurley had gotten a two on in the previous two rounds. It wouldn't be third time's a charm as he recorded a three and Sheridan just barely missed final hole glory as his second putt from 20 feet away had a bit too much pace on it and rimmed out. His tap in three meant it was playoff time. Liles would end up in third place.
Hurley and Sheridan are no strangers to playoffs at Matterhorn. In the first year of the tournament, Hurley, as a 11 year old, took 3rd place from Sheridan, then 37, with an aggressive ace on the first hole. Just earlier in the week this year, they had a 15 hole playoff for second place in the weekly league. Prior to that though, Sheridan had to take a few minutes to get the amateur prizes awarded.
This year the amateur division was dominated by Caleb Smith who at 15 set an amateur record of 120 for the 3 rounds along with a record low round score for an amateur of a 38. Caleb's dad Darren came in second with a 128 and Josh Hayes would hang on to finish on the podium by one stroke over Elizabeth Marsh with Hayes shooting a 133. The amateur division were awarded a variety of prizes and paid down to 8th place.
Amateur Division Top 8
With that out of the way, the question was what the playoff for the top spot in the pros would bring. This time around Hurley played more conservatively on the first hole and he and Sheridan matched 2s for the first two holes. On hole three, Hurley caught a crack in the bricks on his first shot leaving a tough second shot which he missed. Sheridan's tee shot fared much better, leaving him a tap in 2 for the win. It was a bit apt that Sheridan won on the hole named "Holey Moley" after his time on Season 1 of the popular American minigolf show.
Sheridan on Hole 11
Sheridan had this to say about this year's tournament, "First I'm very happy that Mandy [Ranslow] forgoed playing in the tournament to help administer the tournament. That helped me focus a bit more on the putting and overall made sure we had another successful tournament. This year saw the most pros we had playing, which is exciting and I hope we can grow on that in 2022.
"As far as my play went, I was a bit surprised I started off as strong as I did. Normally it takes me a bit to get into the groove after the administrative parts, so I was happy it was a hot start. That final round was super stressful with really any of the four of us in that group having a chance to win. When I messed up on 17, I thought I had blown my chance because Jonah was playing really well, especially on hole 18. I really thought I had won it with my second shot on 18 and then needed to reset for that playoff. My goal there was just no mistakes and it played out well for me. I'm very happy to get this trophy on my shelf."
This year The Putting Penguin also sponsored a skins match after the tournament where 4 pros were randomly selected to play a skins round for $10 a hole. Seymour was selected, along with Rice, Vayda and John O'Leary. O'Leary would end up the big winner netting skins of $80 and $20, with Seymour earning a $70 skin and Vayda a $10 skin.
Seymour Three-Peats in Maine
15 Sep 2021 at 12:23 | Published by: PatPenguin
Top 6 - Sheridan, Tiberio, Seymour, Jones, Goodkowsky, Novicki
Boothbay, Maine – Continuing a hot streak that has already earned him three wins in the northeast United States this summer, Justin Seymour showed what he had for the third year in a row at Dolphin Mini Golf. In 10 rounds, Seymour never scored above a 37 and that consistency on a course where aces are out there but 3’s and 4’s can loom large on some holes, was enough to breakaway from the competition and hold onto a commanding lead through the final round.
The 28th year of the tournament saw 19 putters tee it up for two days on September 11 and 12, an increase over the previous couple of years’ fields. The tournament, which has gone through some format changes over the past few years, was back to a 10 round marathon with 8 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. With several former winners in the field, it’s always tough to place a favorite on who will pace themselves the best, but Seymour would have been the betting favorite coming off victories in Maryland and Connecticut the previous two weekends.
It looked like it would be a challenge right out of the gate though, as round one saw the lowest scores of the day with 2016 champion Pat Sheridan shooting a 32 and Evan Goodkowsky scoring what would be a tournament-low 31. However, the scores would start to even out as the morning progressed and Seymour’s 37-35-33 was enough to put him on top of the field, a position he would then keep the rest of the tournament. By the end of round six his lead was up to four strokes over Sheridan and it would never shrink the rest of the way.
Thus, the battle was on for the rest of the paying spots. This year the tournament paid down to the 6th position and there was movement up and down the leaderboard. Sheridan would drop from 2nd down to 4th and then 6th by the time the tournament was over, while Caleb Jones and Josh Tiberio made their charge to the top. By the start of the last round, it was pretty certain they would finish two-three in some order and then there were three players – Sheridan, Goodkowsky and Mark “Highlighter” Novicki with a four-way tie for 4th. Behind them chomping at the bit were John O’Leary and Peter Burr but neither of them could sneak into the top six by the end. With a solid combo 34 and 35 in the final two rounds, Novicki would break the tie and grab 4th place with Goodkowsky settling in 5th.
Justin Seymour putting on hole 7 in the night rounds
Seymour would drop his round average by over a stroke from his 2020 win, finishing with a 35.5 average over the 10 rounds. The win captured him $500. He would also win the “first hole-in-one on Bobbin Buoys” prize, which is an annual tradition for the 15th hole given it’s the least aced hole on the course. Goodkowsky would grab an additional $100 as the only competitor to aces 18 during the annual hole-in-one competition after the tournament.
This event also doubles as a fundraiser for the Lee Stoddard Scholarship Fund. In addition to funds raised throughout the year at the course and the connected Ice Cream Hut, $1,250 (~1,058 EUR) was raised for the scholarship. The 2022 running of the event will be held the weekend of September 10-11, 2022 with similar expected buy-in and prize money.
Top 6
Justin Seymour – 355 ($500)
Caleb Jones – 365 ($250)
Josh Tiberio – 366 ($200)
Highlighter Novicki – 368 ($150)
Evan Goodkowsky – 370 ($100)
Pat Sheridan – 371 ($50)