MANILA, Philippines – Foiled in her LPGA of Japan Tour homecoming mission, Yuka Saso seeks to make some amends as she returns to the US for the last two LPGA Tour events, beginning with the Pelican Women's Championship Thursday at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida (Friday, Manila time).
But she will be as much tested as the rest of the elite field in the $1.75 million championship as she drew world No. 1 Nelly Korda no less in the first two rounds of the 72-hole event also serving as a prelude to next week's season finale — the CME Group Tour Championship, which gathers the Top 60 players in the Race to CME Globe Season with Saso ranked at No. 15.
The $5 million event will be played at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, also in Florida.
The ICTSI-backed shotmaker settled for joint 22nd in the Toto Japan Classic last week, her first JLPGA event in five months after a successful campaign in the US that saw her score a major win in the US Women’s Open last June.
That historic feat boosted her world ranking, reaching as high as No. 5 before settling for No. 6 the last two weeks while gaining a five-year membership status in the world’s premier circuit.
She is currently ranked No. 3 in the official money list with $1,474,010 in earnings, behind frontrunning Korda, who has $1.974,657, with Korean Jin Young Ko at No. 2 with $1,956,415.
That makes this week’s Pelican Championship worth watching with Saso’s first round clash with Korda and world No. 11 Daniella Kang making it doubly exciting. The troika drew a 12:10 p.m. tee start at the backside of the par-70 course.
The Solaire-backed Ko, the world No. 2, also kicks off her drive on No. 10 with American Brittany Lincicome and Swede Madelene Sagstrom while fellow Korean and world No. 4 Sei Young Kim clashes with Lexi Thompson of the US and Ireland’s Leona Maguire at 7:55 a.m. on No. 1.
Beefing up the elite cast are Japanese Nasa Hataoka, Canada’s Brooke Henderson, Thais Ariya Jutanugarn and Patty Tavatanakit, Jessica Korda of the US, Korean A. Lim Kim, France’s Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Germany’s Sophia Popov and Caroline Masson.