Saso draws Swede ace, US amateur in opener

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso drew two rivals she hopes would provide less level of pressure and challenge the revered ones would as she slugs it out with amateur Jensen Castle and Swede Anna Nordqvist in the first two rounds of the US Women’s Open unfolding Thursday in Pinehurst, North Carolina (Friday, Manila time).

Despite her not-so-strong finishes in the last few LPGA tournaments, Saso remains one of the top draws in the upcoming major championship. The defending champion though will share the spotlight with the likes of World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, comebacking No. 2 Nelly Korda and the rest in the current Top 10 rankings, namely Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, Atthaya Thitikul, Lexi Thompson, Nasa Hataoka, in Bee Park, Hyo Joo Kim and Sei Young Kim.

Saso, who beat Nasa Hataoka on the third playoff hole to score a major breakthrough at the Olympic Club in San Francisco last year, has kept her spot in the Top 10 since posting a career-best No. 5 in October 2021. But with her form somewhat taking a dip this season, the ICTSI-backed ace has also seen her ranking drop to No. 7, 8, 9 and now out of the Top 10.

She is currently at No. 15.

But that wouldn’t matter. With a form she whipped into competitive level the last few weeks, Saso hopes to spring a bigger surprise and pull off another major run in the record $10 million championship.

She, however, described the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club as “a very difficult course” after sampling the layout last week but remains confident of putting up a strong start against Castle and world No. 23 Nordqvist in their 8:32 a.m. start on No. 1.

Ko, refreshed as majority of the rest after skipping last week’s Match Play event in Nevada, has a far more tougher draw in an 8:39 a.m. tee-off at the backside of the challenging layout with Thompson and Jennifer Kupcho, also of the US, as company.

Not much is expected from Korda after the multi-titled Tokyo Olympics gold medalist took an abrupt break from the Tour after undergoing an emergency surgery due to a blood clot in her arm. But she is as good as anybody in the huge 166-player fold, although she will be in for a tough outing against fellow American Danielle Kang and Thai sensation Thitikul at 2:24 p.m. on the first hole.

Meanwhile, Bianca Pagdanganan and ICTSI teammate Dottie Ardina plot their own approach in their bid to fuel their respective title drive in the 72-hole championship with the former kicking off her campaign at 1:03 p.m. on No. 9 with Canada’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and US amateur Sara Im.

Ardina, for her part, hopes to cash in on an early start at 7:22 a.m., also at the backside, with Aussie Sarah Kemp and another American amateur Emma McMyler.

Other marque matchups are Match Play champion Eun-Hee Ji, Andrea Lee and Ai Suzuki, Hataoka, Minjee Lee and Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Jessica Korda and Hannah Green, Hinako Shibuno, Georgia Hall and Sophia Popov, and Patty Tavatanakit, Celine Boutier and Sei Young Kim.