Philippine’s Saso wins US Women’s Open

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso recovered from a disastrous start to beat Japanese Nasa Hataoka with a birdie in the third playoff hole and emerge as the youngest US Open women’s champion in a dramatic showdown Sunday (Monday in Manila).

Saso reeled from losing four strokes with back-to-back double bogeys on the second and third holes and leaned on a strong finish to make the playoff for the historic win.

Saso, who led after the second round, birdied the 16th and the 17th with a delicate bunker shot to finish the four-day epic at the Olympic Club in San Francisco with a two-over-par 73 for a 280 card.

For her remarkable feat, Saso earned a staggering $1 million (P47.7 million) and an LPGA Tour card that comes with a five-year exemption as a major winner.

Hataoka, who was bidding to be the second Japanese to win a major title after Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters triumph, fired a 68 and 280 for the playoff.

It was a stirring victory for Saso, who at 19 years, 11 months, 17 days matched Korean Inbee Park’s record as the youngest Open champion and gave the Philippines another LPGA title after the now retired Jennifer Rosales won in the Chick-fil-A Championship in 2004 and SBS Open in 2005.

The long-hitting Saso actually had two winning putts within 12 feet on the 72nd hole and the second in the playoff before gunning a 10-footer at the ninth hole for the win.

“Unbelievable,” said Saso, the double-gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Games. She couldn’t control her emotions during the post-round interview and sobbed as she thanked those who believed in her.

“I was actually a little upset,” Saso said about her poor start. “But my caddie talked to me and said, ‘Just keep on going; there are many more holes to go.’ That’s what I did.”

She had won two legs in her rookie season in the Japan LPGA.

Third-day leader Lexi Thompson succumbed to the grinding pressure of the final day, blowing a five-stroke lead and hobbled in faltering finish for a 75 and 281.

Saso raised her putter as she made the winning putt, and the Filipinos in the stands and millions more around the world celebrated the amazing victory.

Megha Ganne made a 77 to rule the amateurs by one shot at 287.

Saso earlier fired a 69 in the first round and a 67 in the second to pace the major event before Thompson wrested a one-shot lead in the third round with a 66.

Saso modeled her golf game after PGA superstar Rory McIlroy, spending hours watching videos of his swing before going to bed each night in order to perfect her own.

All that work paid off and now Saso is a US Open champion just like her idol, thanks to a clutch playoff putt after the back-nine collapse by Thompson.

Saso and Hataoka made pars at Nos. 9 and 18 in the two-hole aggregate playoff, sending the tournament to sudden death back at the ninth hole. That set the stage for Saso to win it just up the road from Daly City, dubbed “Little Manila” for its large population of Filipinos.

There were many on hand for the final round, including several with Filipino flags for the occasion.

“I don’t know what’s happening in the Philippines right now, but I’m just thankful that there’s so many people in the Philippines cheering for me,” Saso said. “I don’t know how to thank them. They gave me so much energy. I want to say thank you to everyone.”

Saso has talked frequently about her time studying McIlroy’s swing and the four-time major winner said he saw the similarities and was flattered by it. McIlroy also sent Saso an Instagram message before the final round imploring her to get the trophy.

“I saw it this morning, and I was like, ‘Ohhh!’” she said. “I should have reposted it but I was so busy this morning, so I’ll do it later. I felt really happy.”

The first US Women’s Open on the fabled Lake Course at the Olympic Club ended up like so many of the previous five times the men competed for the national championship here.

The 54-hole leader didn’t win any of those five US Opens played by the men, helping the Olympic Club earn the moniker of the “Graveyard of Champions.”

Previous winners Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Payne Stewart, Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell all got caught on the final day at Olympic and were denied their titles.

Thompson had a five-stroke lead when she walked off the eighth green but she squandered it all on the back nine. She made a double bogey at No. 12, a bogey at 14 and then a bogey 6 on the par-5 17th that was reachable in two shots based on the tee location.

Her approach shot on the par-4 18th ended up in the bunker and then she missed a 10-foot putt to make the playoff.

That left her winless in 15 tries at the US Women’s Open that she first competed in as a 12-year-old in 2007.

Thompson was unable to add a second major to the one she won at the ANA Inspiration in 2014. It was another final day disappointment to go with the one that happened at that same tournament in 2017 when she was penalized four strokes during the final round for misplacing her marked ball the previous day and lost in a playoff.

“It’s hard to smile, but it was an amazing week,” Thompson said.