Higuchi, Chako (1945—)
Higuchi, Chako (1945—)
Japanese golfer. Born Hisako Matsui Higuchi in Tokyo, Japan, on October 13, 1945.
Chako Higuchi began playing golf in 1963 and rose quickly to become the top woman player in Japan. She won three Japanese LPGA and Open titles and started competing in America in 1970. In 1973, she played in only eight events in the United States but won more than $10,000. In 1976, she won the Colgate European Open and, in 1977, the LPGA championship. She played less frequently in 1978 and 1979, though she finished close to the top in nearly every tournament she entered.
Higuchi was extremely popular with American galleries due to her petite stature and un-orthodox swing that captivated but stymied golf analysts. Though Nancy Lopez questioned her form on the tee in Women Golfers, "her steady rhythm and timing" helped her meet the ball at just the right moment. "She doesn't hit a long ball compared to some of us, and often uses a wood for a medium long approach … where most would take an iron, but her woods usually fly straight as an arrow and land well placed on the green."
sources:
Lopez, Nancy, with Peter Schwed. The Education of a Woman Golfer. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979.