Japan’s Harumi Yoshikuwa carded a 4-under 68 in the final round of the YTS & SUNCITY Futures, a three-round, NT$1.2-million TLPGA Tour Futures-level event, to capture her breakthrough maiden victory. Though she trailed the lead by two shots around the turn, Yoshikuwa caught fire on the back nine, stringing together four birdies in a five-hole stretch from no.10 to 14 to seize control. Despite no further scoring through the last four holes, she finished with an 8-under 208 to seal a thrilling one-stroke victory.

36-hole leader and home course talent Ku Min-Chun (古旻錞) held onto her lead through ten holes, backed by two early birdies. However, a stumble on the 11th hole disrupted her momentum. Unable to pick up any more strokes coming in, the amateur signed for a 71 to finish solo fourth at 6-under 210.

Chang Wenny Ching-Ling (張靖翎) and Yu Han-Hsuan (俞涵軒) both poured in two front-nine birdies to briefly take a share of the lead, but were eventually overtaken by Yoshikuwa’s back-nine dominance. The Taiwanese duo finished tied for runner-up at 7-under 209.

The YTS & SUNCITY Futures is co-sponsored by YTS Technology and Suncity Golf Club. The YTS Group is one of Taiwan’s leading suppliers of airtight windows. This marks the tenth staging of the YTS & SUNCITY event on the TLPGA Tour, and its second year as a 54-hole Futures tournament. Yoshikuwa took home the champion cash prize of NT$210,000.

After competing on the TLPGA Tour for three years, Yoshikuwa finally achieved her long-awaited breakthrough. “I actually opened with a bogey on the very first hole, but I tried to quickly reset my mindset. And the birdie on the 4th was crucial. It really helped me settle down,” Yoshikuwa said. “Light rain later in the round made it tricky to control the distance, so I kept telling myself to play smart and minimize mistakes. Finally, I made another birdie on the 10th, it gave me a massive confidence boost. I rode that momentum, picked up a few more birdies, and I am just really happy to pull off the comeback.”

Although her family couldn’t be there in person to watch her lift her first TLPGA trophy, Yoshikuwa thanked their unwavering support from back home, along with her local friends and fellow players in Taiwan, for keeping her driven. Looking ahead, beyond her TLPGA Tour commitments, Yoshikuwa will head back to Japan in September to attempt to tackle the second stage of the JLPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Chang Wenny Ching-Ling mounted a heroic late surge on Friday, rolling in three birdies on the 15th, 16th, and 18th holes to card a 69. Falling just one shot short of forcing a playoff, she was still very pleased with her finish. “Honestly, I didn’t feel as comfortable out there today as I did yesterday,” Chang said. “So my strategy was pretty conservative. I teed off with my 3-wood most of the time, which definitely minimized errors and kept me near the top of the leaderboard. I’m still delighted with how I made that final comeback.”

Yu Han-Hsuan also closed with a 69, though she couldn’t help but regret a few missed opportunities on the back nine. “My ball-striking with the woods and irons was solid today, but my judgements on the green just fell a bit short,” said Yu, who turned in a bogey-free round with three birdies.

Following the tournament, TLPGA Chairwoman Huang Bie-Shyun expressed her gratitude to host venue and co-title sponsor Suncity Golf Club, as well as YTS Group for their long-standing dedication to the TLPGA Tour.

Ku Min-Chun earned the low amateur honor for the tournament, while Harumi Yoshikuwa and Chang Ching-Ling locked up early entries into September’s KENDA Tire TLPGA Open.