At 5’3″, Minami Katsu may look sweet and jolly. But as her fellow female golfers know, she’s not someone you should take lightly on the fairway. The Japanese pro personifies the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Once in competition, she sheds her friendly and loving persona and emerges as one of the boldest and bravest players on the course. Golf fans around the world are all getting to witness that in the 2025 AIG Women’s Open as she is sitting at T4 after 54 holes at Royal Porthcawl.
While fans are slowly falling in love with the competitive nature of Katsu, they have been eagerly looking for any information available about her online. We’re here to compile all of it and give you a brief glimpse of the amazing life and career journey of the Japanese golfer.
Who is Minami Katsu?
On July 1, 1998, Minami Katsu was born in Kagoshima, Japan. From a very young age, she had a role model in golf whom she looked up to within her family: her grandfather. Ryusaku Ichiki was a trained golfer himself and regularly played the sport. He often took his granddaughter to the course to help her catch on to the game at an early age. Katsu picked it up really quickly and played it through most of her youth.
By the time Minami was in the Kagoshima High School, she was already playing on the JLPGA Tour. In fact, when she was only 15 and playing her very first tournament, she ended up grabbing a win. This made her the youngest golfer to win on the JLPGA Tour in 2014. As published on USA Today, Katsu said, “I never thought I would be able to win. I want to thank the fans who supported me and, of course, my parents.” Yes, she already had quite a few fans at the age of 15 who followed her career. You can even say she was the Charlie Woods of the Japanese LPGA Tour in 2014.
That win gave her the confidence to pursue a career in golf full-time immediately after high school. She didn’t continue her education and instead chose to turn pro in 2017. Since then, she has often performed all around the world, on the JLPGA Tour, the LET, and the LPGA Tour. Apart from the one win back in 2014, the Vantelin Ladies Open, Katsu has won 7 other tournaments in Japan. She has certainly been a very consistent performer in her home country. From 2018 to 2022, she finished inside the top 10 of the season’s leaderboard.
In 2023, Minami received her LPGA Tour card. Since then, she has had a few top-10s, coming close to competing for the title. But the 27-year-old has also taken her time to settle into the Tour. However, considering her wild performance in the third round of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, it’s safe to say that Minami Katsu has finally announced herself to the world. And she is ready to take over the LPGA Tour as well.
Outside her aspirations of world domination, Katsu leads quite a happy life. Leaning on her initial impression of being sweet and friendly, she is always surrounded by her family and loved ones.
Katsu’s recipe to make a flavorful life curry
On the course, she may be a terror for her peers, but when she’s not competing with them, she can be just as kind and loving. Minami Katsu often enjoys taking pictures with her fellow golfers on the course before and after tournaments, when the tensions have boiled down. It’s not only fellow LPGA Tour or women’s golf stars that she has shared posts with. Katsu has also enjoyed a crossover with PGA Tour pro and fellow Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama.
When not in uniform, Minami loves to go out for a meal. Ironically, she has not seen eating Katsu Curry yet. However, she does seem to have a sweet tooth. Judging by the pictures, her idea of a perfect meal doesn’t seem to revolve around what’s on the table. For her, what matters is who is seated around her having the meal is which makes the bigger difference. Apart from her love for food, Minami Katsu also seems to enjoy baseball and going out to the beach.
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