Hisako "Chako" Higuchi and the late Ku Ok-hee of South Korea are regarded as the "mothers of women's golf" in their countries and followed a similar groundbreaking path to the top by challenging themselves overseas.

Higuchi said that when she turned pro in 1967, golf for women was seen as a game for "special women, such as wives of company presidents."

Now an adviser to the Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan after serving as its president, the 67-year-old once drew the derision of a leading member of Japan's golf establishment, who told a newspaper he could not understand why women would want to "live with a set of golf clubs."