MANILA, Philippines – One website named her “Yuka Sasasa”, the other portals wrote it “Yuka Sasagi”, “Yuka Sassa” and “Yuka Sasao” while another called her “Yusa Sasou”. For all the confusion that her name being misspelled had fetched, Yuka Saso delivered a compelling message that should put the issue to rest.
For the 19-year-old wonder, her name simply spells victory.
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Just into her third tournament, Saso had literally taken the LPGA of Japan Tour by storm, winning back-to-back championships in varying fashions. She rallied from behind to snare the NEC Karuizawa crown in Nagano three weeks ago then wrested control early and held sway to capture the Nitori Ladies diadem in Hokkaido last Sunday.
Those early exploits didn’t only match a couple of rare feats in the region’s premier ladies circuit but also established a lot of firsts rarely seen for a player barely warming up for the pros and on a tough tour as the JLPGA.
With at least 12 more tournaments lined up for the year cut short by the global health crisis restrictions, the 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist and two-time Philippine Ladies Open titlist could be looking at a couple more victories — or perhaps three or four, depending on the challenge her rivals would put up the rest of the season.
What makes her doubly scarier is that she feels she was just starting to heat up.
“I have just begun and I have a long way to go,” said Saso when asked about her enthusiasm for the future following her two-stroke triumph over Sakura Koiwai in the Nitori Ladies to complete a stirring back-to-back title romp.
But she quickly toned down her expectations, saying: “I will do my best without focusing too much on it.”
That’s what probably separates Saso from the rest this early of her pro career — focus. Aware of the challenge awaiting her in the Nitori Ladies, she hit Hokkaido days ahead of the event to acclimatize and familiarize herself with the Otaru Country Club. Clutching a one-stroke lead into the final round, she left her hotel three hours before the original tee-time, only to find out that the start had been moved by two hours due to bad weather.
“I just walked around there for an hour-and-a-half. I wanted to sleep but I thought it was rude to do so,” she said.
So she poured it all out on the course, dumping all the negative thoughts that could sidetrack her attention.
“Golf is a game, concentration matters. Rather than being aware of the opponent, I went on my way without thinking of them. I am aiming for a birdie in all holes because if I make a slight mistake, I would still have a chance for a par or bogey at worse,” said Saso.
“I did not look at the leaderboard. I don’t even know my score. I’m fighting for the championship and there were too many things to think and do with my own game,” she added.
Gifted with an awesome power, which she developed and sharpened, along with her skills in short game, including putting, through long hours of practice and drills, the ICTSI-backed ace has established herself this early as the yardstick among the best and the brightest in the lucrative circuit.
Veteran Fujita Saito saw it firsthand how to be ranged against the ace Fil-Japanese shotmaker. In the final round of the NEC Karuizawa, Saso flaunted her power in the closing holes, shooting a late eagle that served as gravy for an already settled outcome.
“I feel like it’s not a women’s tour. It’s like playing with Tiger Woods,” said the 34-year-old Saito, a certified power-blaster who still yielded around 20 yards to Saso off the mound, in jest.
Slugging it out with Saso in a virtual match play in Nitori, Koiwai grabbed control early on but succumbed to pressure, fumbling with a couple of three-putts that ruined her bid then credited her rival’s tremendous power.
“She’s really a strong player. I felt the difference,” said Koiwai.
The dissimilarity actually comes in many forms.
Saso is tops in the Mercedes ranking with 576 points, dislodging Earth Mondahim Cup winner Ayaka Watanabe (353); winnings (Y59,040,000) with Watanabe slipping to second (Y46,880,000); average stroke (68.54) with Koiwai in second (70.20); Top 10 finishes with three, including a joint fifth place effort at Earth Mondahmin; par-on rate (79.79) with Nozomi Uetake in second (78.88); number of birdies (52) with Mao Nozawa in second with 44; number of eagles (2); number of rounds in 69 and below (7); and par break rate (27.27).
She is also ranked behind No. 1 Minami Katsu (1.69) in average number of putts with 1.70; to Mao Saigo (4.55) in par-5 average score with 4.61; and to Watanabe (3.90) in par-4 average score with 3.92.
The stats are just so imposing for a player, who as a young lass watched golf on TV with father-coach Masakazu, saw LPGA stalwart Paula Creamer and told herself that she wanted to be a pro golfer someday.
Her Nitori Ladies triumph also netted her P16.5 million (Y36M), raising her JLPGA earnings to P27M in just three months to grab the top ranking from Watanabe. She also became only the third player after Ai Miyazato and Nasa Hataoka to score back-to-back victories since 1988 and was fourth to achieve the feat as a teen, also after the now retired Miyazato (19 years old – twice) and Hataoka (18 years old).
Most notably, she became the fastest JLPGA campaigner to collect over Y50 million, beating Hataoka and Korean Shin Jie, who broke the Y50M barrier in eight tournaments.
Still, she was modest enough to downplay her early achievements.
“I haven’t come close (to Miyazato and Hataoka’s feats) yet. They worked hard in Japan and competed in the US, so I don’t feel like nearing (their accomplishments). However, I felt like I was able to do what they did,” said Saso.
With her power, talent and mindset, it would be just a matter of time before Saso could surpass the Japanese aces’ achievements, gain more accolades in other tours and build a name that distinctly hers.