The inaugural Nantou Golf & Country Club Futures crowned a first-time Tour champion today as TLPGA rookie Yuria Sonoda emerged victorious in her Taiwan debut.

The Japanese youngster, who earned her TLPGA Tour card at the end of the 2025 season, carded a 73 in the final round to finish at 211, tied with first-round co-leader Chen Chih-Min (陳之敏). The two returned to the par-4 9th hole for the sudden-death playoff, where Chen mishit her drive into the trees on the right, forcing her to take an extra shot to recover and eventually resulting in a bogey. Sonoda, meanwhile, found the fairway and set up a perfect winning putt to secure her first professional title.

Although she completed a wire-to-wire victory, Sonoda struggled with her putting during a grueling Friday and briefly lost the lead to Chen after 16. Fortunately for her, a clutch birdie on the 18th set the stage for her comeback. 

"This is only my second time playing in Taiwan. It feels surreal," Sonoda said. "Everything here is so new to me—the rules, the customs, and the language barrier. I’m just really happy I managed to push through and get the win."

Chen Chih-Min was disappointed by the playoff loss but remained grateful for the experience. "My drive in the playoff was off, which actually happened a few times today," Chen said. "Looking back, I think I was rushing my swing rhythm a little too much. It just wasn’t as steady as it was during the first two days."

Chen added that her drive on the 18th hole even landed in the adjacent fairway, leaving her 160 yards out for her third shot. She managed a gutsy par save there but still couldn’t find her precision in time for the playoff. 

In fact, Chen’s stellar short game today largely compensated for her inconsistent driving, keeping her in contention. Needing only 29 putts, she came up with several critical par saves, most notably on the 10th and 12th and lifted her briefly atop the leaderboard.

Nantou Golf & Country Club President Lin R-P congratulated the champion and praised the players’ resilience. "This was a tough week with the rain and fog, which caused some delays," Lin said. "I’m glad we finished strong, and we look forward to continuing our support for the TLPGA and for the players."

The Nantou Golf & Country Club Futures was the first Futures-level event of the 2026 TLPGA Tour season. This week’s results will provide a welcome boost to the players’ world ranking points.