Saso rebounds with 67, but stays 8 shots adrift in Tournament of Champions

MANILA, Philippines —Yuka Saso finally hit her stride and found her touch, producing a solid, eagle-spiked 67 to crash back into Top 6 even as Brooke Henderson held on to a three-stroke lead over two rivals despite slowing down with a 69 in the third round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida Saturday.

Though she remained eight strokes off the Canadian two-time major champion with a six-under 210 aggregate, Saso stayed on course for a big finish in this all-winners event where she placed sixth last year and an inspiring start to a season full of promise.

Coming off a wobbly 73 halfway through the $1.7 million championship, the 2021 US Women’s Open champion wielded a hot putter and gunned down three birdies in a backside start then snapped a run of pars at the front with an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 for a 34-33.

Loading up off the mound with a 288-yard clip, the ICTSI-backed ace nearly backfired as she missed seven fairways and failed to reach regulation five times.

But she flashed an impeccable short game to preserve a blemish-free card highlighted with 26 putts, including birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and 18.

But Henderson held sway with a four-birdie, one-bogey round for a 202 total, keeping Nasa Hataoka and Nelly Korda at bay after the duo pooled 205s after a 66 and 68, respectively.

Swede Maja Spark also carded a 68 while England’s Charley Hull shot a 69 as they shared fourth place but five strokes off Henderson with 18 holes left in the kickoff leg of a full 35-leg schedule that includes a two-leg Southeast Asian swing in Thailand and Singapore on Feb. 23-26 and March 2-5, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mardy Fish pulled away in the Celebrity side of the event, scoring 39 Stableford points for a 117 total, 14 points clear of Chad Pfeiffer and Jeremy Roenick, who assembled a pair of 103s after 34 and 35 points, respectively.