Fiery frontside windup puts Saso back in early hunt

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso turned a shaky backside start into a scorching frontside finish, coming away with a two-under 70 for joint seventh, three strokes behind a hot-starting Brooke Henderson of Canada after 18 holes of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Championship in Orlando, Florida Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

Saso failed to get going despite fine conditions at the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, dropping strokes on Nos. 14 and 16 before hacking a solid tee-shot on the par-3 17th for birdie that checked her early struggle.

She then used her length to dominate the last two par-5 holes at the front while picking up another stroke on No. 5 to produce a 33-37 card and join England’s Jodi Shadoff at seventh.

Working on a 272-yard driving clip, the ICTSI-backed Saso missed four fairways, went out of regulation five times and finished with 30 putts. But she made the most of her chances on her way home, birdying Nos. 2, 5 and 9 to put herself in early contention in the blue-ribbon, opening leg event of this year’s LPGA Tour, which gathers the 29 winners the last two years.

Saso scored a major breakthrough in the US Women’s Open in 2021, thus earning a five-year exempt status on the world's premier ladies circuit although she went winless last year with a runner-up effort at Mediheal Championship her best in 26 tournaments marred by seven missed cuts.

Meanwhile, Henderson, a two-time major winner, rattled off six birdies against a bogey as she wrested control with a 67, one stroke ahead of world No. 2 Nelly Korda of the US, who gunned down five birdies against a bogey for a 68.

Charley Hull, also from England, Scot Gemma Dryburgh, Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa and Taiwanese Wei Ling Hsu all carded 69s to make it a crowded leaderboard, ensuring a spirited battle for control in the next three days.

Last year’s winner Danielle Kang strung up four birdies in a seven-hole stretch from No. 3 but made three bogeys, ending up with a 71 to slip to a big group of one-under par scorers, who included Swedes Maja Stark and Anna Nordqvist, French Celine Boutier and Japanese Nasa Hataoka.

Swede legend Annika Sorenstam, on the other hand, scored 39 points on the modified Stableford scoring system to pace the celebrity side of the tournament, two points over American tennis great Mardy Fish and three points clear of baseball icon Derek Lowe.