Saso takes shot at ¥100M mark
MANILA, Philippines — Yuka Saso hopes to sustain progress in the world ranking as she seeks a strong finish in the ¥100,000,000 T-Point X Eneos golf tournament that unfolds today in Kagoshima, Japan.
A two-leg winner in her rookie year in the Japan LPGA, Saso can breach the ¥100 million mark in the rich tour with a win in the 54-hole event offering a top purse of ¥18 million.
The 19-year-old Filipino-Japanese jumped to 44th from 47th after her joint 12th place performance in the Meiji Yasuda Seimei Ladies Yokohama Tire golf tournament in Kochi last weekend.
Saso made up for a drop to 47th from a previous high of 45th after she missed the cut in the Daikin Orchid Ladies golf tournament in Okinawa two weeks back.
The effort in Kochi kept Saso at third in the Mercedes ranking with 1,287.85 points, behind Japanese Ayaka Furue with 1,391.45 and Daikin Orchid winner Sakura Koiwai with 1,330.84 while keeping her iron grip as the money ranking leader with earnings of ¥94,971,170 (P42.46 million).
Meanwhile, another Filipina Bianca Pagdanganan, backed by ICTSI like Saso, also improved by three spots to 148th even as she struggled in a couple of qualifiers in Florida.
The Southeast Asian Games double-gold winner will try to bounce back as she is scheduled to plunge into action in the $1.8 million Kia Classic set March 25-28 in Carlsbad, California.
Both Saso and Pagdanganan are on the brink of making the Tokyo Olympics slated July 23 to Aug. 8 as the two are ranked 22nd and 42nd, respectively, out of the Top 60 who will qualify.
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