Goto Steps into Faldo Junior Tour Limelight

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates: Japanese teenager Ai Goto continued her spectacular run of form with a stunning wire-to-wire victory in the 29th Faldo Junior Tour European Grand Final.

Just weeks after winning a professional event in her home country, the 16-year-old swept to a two-stroke win at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.

Goto, a member at Shinyu Country Club in Kobe, fired rounds of 66, 65 and a closing 67 at the par-70 layout. That gave her a 54-hole total of 12-under-par 198 – two shots clear of Zambian Michael Chuma in the Overall Championship and eight shots in front of England’s Arianna Virik in the Girls’ Under-16 Division.

Over the course of the tournament, Goto registered 17 birdies and one eagle. At eight-under through 15 holes on day one, the prospect of a sub-60 round appeared possible. However, a quadruple-bogey nine at the 16th put paid to those hopes, but did not disrupt her rhythm.

Third in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at Laguna Lang Co in April, Goto made waves at the start of October when she upstaged her professional rivals in the Sky Ladies ABC Cup in Hyogo, part of the Japan LPGA’s Step Up Tour, the secondary circuit to the Japan LPGA Tour.

With her triumphs there and at Al Ain, Goto has risen to 54th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

In the Girls Under-21 division at the Faldo Junior Tour, Sri Lankan Kaya Daluwatte claimed the title with a total of eight-under 202 (68-67-67). She opened her final round in spectacular fashion, carding birdies on five of her first six holes and romped to a seven-shot win from Sweden’s Lova Jansson.

This year’s Grand Final featured 87 competitors from 30 countries across three continents. The field included young talents from established golfing nations such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as representatives from emerging regions including Zambia, Kenya, India, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia.

Europe was strongly represented, with players from Sweden, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, alongside participants from the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

The European Grand Final marked the conclusion of an outstanding season for the Faldo Junior Tour, which this year welcomed more than 1,250 participants across 17 events.

The four divisional champions from Al Ain have earned invitations to the 17th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, to be staged at Laguna Lang Co in April 2026.