The Loop
Miss Universe Japan Momoko Abe is a surprisingly accomplished golfer with an impressive career-low round
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made headlines earlier this week when he revealed a "national secret" to Miss Universe Japan Momoko Abe: His career-low golf score. Although a 79 is pretty impressive (Mr. Abe still didn't share his score when he played with President Donald Trump and fell into a sand trap), the real news to emerge from this meeting is how good of a golfer Abe (no relation) is. Her best round? A 68!
"That is astonishing," Mr. Abe said in response. That was our first thought as well, but after doing some important investigating into her background, it makes sense.
Momoko Abe's Instagram account is filled with photos and videos from the course and she appears to be sponsored by an apparel company called Kiss On The Green:
Her mom was a professional golfer, according to Wikipedia (So it must be true), and she even made a cameo on the LPGA of Japan Tour in 2015:
Check out this intro/promo video about her before the 2017 Miss Universe pageant in which she focuses on her love of golf:
And take a gander at her silky golf swing:
Here's another look. Check out the Hideki Matsuyama-esque pause at the top of her backswing:
Lovely.
What isn't so lovely is that Momoko Abe was denied the Miss Universe crown in November. In fact, she wasn't even one of the 16 finalists, despite winning for best national costume (Yes, I spent way too much time looking into this).
But then, I realized the problem when reading a breakdown of the contest (Again, I spent way too much time looking into this). Unlike the Miss America pageant, Miss Universe does NOT have a talent portion so she wasn't able to show off her picturesque swing. It now made sense that this beautiful, intelligent (she has a degree in philosophy) woman who is capable of shooting in the freaking 60s didn't come away with the crown. But it doesn't make it right.
In any event, we salute you Miss Universe Japan. And we hope to see you out there playing dominating the pro-am circuit.