is a Japanese professional golfer.
Career Uehara, from Okinawa, started playing golf at age 12. She had a successful amateur career and won the Japan Women's Junior Golf Championship at the age of 15, and the Japan Women's Amateur Golf Championship at the age of 18. Together with Ai Miyazato and Sakura Yokomine, she was a member of the Japanese team that won a silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games.
In 2003, Uehara turned professional and joined the LPGA of Japan Tour, where she was tied for 3rd as a rookie at the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship, and later recorded three victories. She finished third at the LPGA Tour co-sanctioned 2012 Mizuno Classic. In 2013, she made her way onto the LPGA Tour on her first attempt, where she finish third in the Rookie of the Year rankings. She recorded a tied 4th finish at the 2014 Mizuno Classic, just a stroke out of joining a playoff.
In 2016, Uehara made two holes-in-one during the Canadian Pacific Women's Open, tying the LPGA record for most holes-in-one in a single tournament. In November the same year, she set another record when she posted a score of 141 during round one of the Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament on the LPGA of Japan Tour. Uehara mistakenly applied the local rule of "lift, clean, and place" (common on the LPGA) when it should have been "lift, clean, and replace", earning her 68 penalties, two for each of the 19 violations and one for each of the 15 holes with an incorrect score on her scorecard.
Uehara held the lead after the first round of the 2014 Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale, after an opening four-under-par 68. Uehara, in solo second place just one shot off of the lead, played in the final group at a major championship for the first time in her career at the 2017 Evian Championship.
In 2024, Uehara joined the Ladies European Tour, where she had a best finish of tied 7th at the La Sella Open in Spain. In 2025, she tied for 4th at the Dutch Ladies Open, three strokes behind winner Mimi Rhodes.
Amateur wins 1999 Japan Women's Junior Golf Championship 2002 Japan Women's Amateur Golf Championship
Professional wins (3) LPGA of Japan Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up127 Apr 2008Fujisankei Ladies Classic70-72-66=208−81 stroke Erina Hara222 Mar 2009Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup64-71=135−95 strokes Hwang Ah-reum Midori Yoneyama 33 Jul 2011Nichi-Iko Ladies Open66-68-66=200−16 1 stroke Song Bo-bae
Results in LPGA majors Results not in chronological order. Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023ANA InspirationT19CUTT35T56T278T26CUTCUTWomen's PGA ChampionshipT44T53CUTCUTCUTT60CUTCUTU.S. Women's OpenT36CUTT20CUTCUTT41CUTThe Evian ChampionshipT27T32T4670T10CUTCUTNTWomen's British OpenT17T54T63CUTT21
CUT = missed the half-way cut NT = no tournament T = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeANA Inspiration 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 6Women's PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3U.S. Women's Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 3The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 5Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 4Totals 0 0 0 0 2 6 36 21 Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2013 Kraft Nabisco – 2013 Evian) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2017 Evian – 2018 ANA)
Team appearances Amateur Asian Games (representing Japan): 2002
Professional Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2007 (winners) International Crown (representing Japan): 2018
References
External links