RIKO HIGASHIO
Birthdate: November 18, 1975
Birthplace: Fukuoka, Japan
Age: 29
Ht: 5'3"
Home: Tokyo, Japan
College: Florida
Turned Professional: 1998
Joined LPGA Tour: 2004
Player Notes:
Professional
2004 Highlights
• Best finish was a tie for 13th at both the Sybase Classic Presented by Lincoln Mercury and ShopRite LPGA Classic.
• Carded a career-low 66 during the Franklin American Mortgage Championship benefiting Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
2004 Stats (Rank)
Rds under par: 23/69 (65)
Rds in the 60s: 7/69 (108)
Birdies: 199 (67)
Eagles: 1 (148)
Greens in reg: 61.6% (107)
Driving accuracy: 69% (98)
Sand saves: 41.6% (32)
Putts per GIR: 1.82 (53)
Driving avg: 247.9 (100)
Career Highlights
• In 2003, tied for 22nd at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament and earned exempt status for the 2004 season in a three-hole, eight-way playoff.
• In 1999, competed on the Futures Tour, where she won the SNET Women's Classic; began competing on the LPGA of Japan Tour.
Amateur
Higashio won the 1993 Japan Amateur Championship and the 1994 Japan Junior Championship. She won four collegiate tournaments while at the University of Florida, was a two-time All-American and a three-time All-SEC member. She was the 1998 Dinah Shore Award recipient. . .Started playing golf at the age of 8...Credits her parents as the individuals most influencing her career.