Back-to-back for amazing saso

Fil-Japanese ace banks p16.5m on Nitori romp

MANILA, Philippines — So young, so talented – and so rich.

Yuka Saso staked her claim as Asia’s top player, outduelling local ace Sakura Koiwai in a thriller of a shootout to capture the Nitori Ladies golf crown with a closing 71 for a second straight LPGA of Japan Tour championship in Hokkaido yesterday.

The two-shot victory, worth a whopping P16.5 million (Y36M), thus hiked the 19-year-old Saso’s earnings to P27 million in just three months and the same number of tournaments in a rookie season in the region’s premier ladies circuit, undisputedly making her the fastest to ever collect such winnings among young Filipino athletes of any generation.

She also became only the third player after Al Miyazato and Nasa Hataoka to score back-to-back JLPGA victories since 1988 and was the fourth to achieve the feat as a teen, also after Miyazato (19 years old – twice) and Hataoka (18 years old).

But she emerged the first JLPGA player to rake in over Y50 million, besting Hataoka and Korean Shin Jie, who needed eight events each to break the Y50 million mark.

The victory validated the 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist’s claim as the region’s newest superstar, her total earnings of Y59,040,000, including Y23,040,000 for her victory at NEC Karuizawa and joint fifth place effort at Earth Mondahmin Cup, also shoving her past Ayaka Watanabe for No. 1 in the JLPGA money rankings.

But it didn’t come easy.

The two-time Philippine Ladies Open titlist blew a one-stroke lead with a double-bogey on No. 2 in a final round delayed for two hours due to heavy rains. But Saso stayed cool and composed, showing maturity and mental toughness by fighting back from one down to regain control with a birdie on No. 6.

She then battled Koiwai shot-for-shot and putt-for-putt the rest of the way before outsmarting the Japanese in a virtual battle of nerves between two young aces at the backside of the Otaru Country Club to hack out the victory and complete a rare back-to-back title feat.

Saso closed out with a 34-37, hitting a clutch birdie on the par-3 No. 12 to go 2-up then pouncing on Koiwai mishaps on Nos. 15 and 16 to pound out the win on a 72-hole total of 13-under 275 in a big follow-up to her four-shot romp at NEC Karuizawa in Nagano two weeks ago following a strong finish in her maiden JLPGA event at Earth Mondahmin Cup in Chiba last June.

Unable to shake off her rookie rival, the 22-year-old Koiwai, ranked No. 83 in the world, faded at the finish, dropping strokes on Nos. 15 and 16 before birdying the par-3 17th to save a 72. She ended up with a 277 for second while Kana Mikashima rallied with a 71 to share third place at 285 with Ji-Hee Lee (74) and Mayu Hamada (76).

Over in the US, Bianca Pagdanganan squandered what could’ve been a gem of a round with a faltering finish, settling for a three-under 68 and a 138 aggregate, 12 off leader Swede Anna Nordqvist after two rounds of the NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers, Arizona Saturday.

Compatriots Clariss Guce and Dottie Ardina missed the cut at 140.