Saso returns to Philippines, keeps world No. 7 spot

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso arrived Tuesday from the US with her hold of the world No. 7 ranking intact although she would rather downplay her current status and instead focus on winning again when the LPGA Tour resumes with a couple of Southeast Asian tournaments next month.

The long Tour break after the season-opening three-leg swing in Florida has given Saso the chance to head back to Manila before the Women's World Championship in Singapore and the Honda LPGA Thailand in early March where she hopes to gain motivation and inspiration from relatives, friends and supporters in pursuit of more golfing honors.

Two years after leaving her native land to launch a pro career, the many-time former spearhead of the national team returned yesterday with a major championship and a world Top 10 ranking, not to mention two victories on the LPGA of Japan Tour where it all started.

Her dream meeting with childhood idol Rory McIlroy, to whom she had modeled her swing, also more than completed her historic 2021 season.

She even gave equal weight to her face-to-face meeting with the Irishman with her winning the US Women’s Open diadem.

Saso has made Dallas her based as part of her being a full-time LPGA campaigner with a five-year exempt status and upon arrival, she has asked that she’d be given time to rest first before granting any interviews.

A press conference is being arranged early next week.

The ICTSI-backed ace thrust herself into the spotlight after winning the US Women’s Open crown in June 2021 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, matching Korean Inbee Park's record as the youngest player to win the Tour's premier major championship and becoming the first player of Filipino heritage to win a major.

She has also put to rest all the mixed vibes generated by her early citizenship switch at the start of the new season, saying she, her family and her management team, decided on it solely to free her from any possible travel woes that may arise during the course of her country-hopping campaign as a Tour player.

What concerns her most is how to get better and stronger, particularly after missing the cut in her last tournament in Florida that ended a streak of 22 final round appearances, including five in Japan, the past two years.

And a victory near home would certainly make her LPGA reboot a lot more significant.

“I would love to win so close to home,” she said.