Dryburgh takes TOTO Classic crown; Saso rallies with 65

MANILA, Philippines — Scot Gemma Dryburgh matched her fiery third round 65 with a solid closing seven-under card then pounced on three-day leader and local ace Momoko Ueda’s misfortunes to run away with a surprising four-stroke romp in the TOTO Classic in Japan Sunday.

Dryburgh birdied five of the last eight holes to spike a brilliant 33-32 card at the Seta Golf Course, turning what was expected to be a final round shootout into a victory walk on a 20-under 268 total as her erstwhile Japanese rivals fell by the wayside one after the other despite near-ideal conditions in Shiga.

Kana Nagai emerged as the steadiest among the locals, posting her own version of 65, marked by four birdies in the last six, as she snatched runner-up honors at 272 while Swede Linn Grant fired a second straight 67 to finish third at 273, ahead of Yuna Nishimura, who pooled a 275 after a 69.

Ueda, who shared the first round lead with 2019 champion Ai Suzuki and took solo control in the next two rounds, held sway with a two-birdie feat after four holes. But she bogeyed two of the next five holes then dropped two strokes on the par-4 11th to tumble off the leaderboard.

She recovered with a birdie on the next but yielded the stroke on No. 14 to hobble with a 74, ending up at joint fifth at 276 with compatriots Ayaka Furue and Miyu Yamashita, who carded 69 and 72, respectively.

Suzuki wound at joint 28th with a 282 after a 75.

Earlier, Yuka Saso found her rhythm and touch, albeit late, but her scorching eagle-spiked 65 proved enough to move her from the cellar to a share of 51st at 287.

The 21-year-old Japanese, who struggled with 73-79 in the first two rounds, rebounded with a 70 Saturday that however failed to lift her from last place at 77th. The ICTSI-backed ace hardly gained with a birdie-bogey start at the back but after picking up strokes on Nos. 15 and 16, things turned for the better for the 2021 US Women’s Open champion.

She eagled the par-5 No. 1, birdied Nos. 3 and 4 and gained another stroke on the par-3 eighth to finish with a 30 and a 65.

Though she wound up too far behind Dryburgh, her strong windup should bolster her confidence as the Tour heads back to Florida for the final regular leg in the Pelican Women’s Championship slated Nov. 10-13.

Meanwhile, the CME Group Tour Championship, featuring the Top 60 in the money list, will be held Nov. 17-20 in Naples, also in Florida. Saso is at No. 27 with Lydia Ko, Atthaya Thitikul and Minjee Lee leading the race.