June 7 ------ No one would have guessed that Yuka would make such a fabulous comeback. She was considered missing in action for the most part of three years when she went winless. Three years ago, Yuka introduced herself to the golf world grandly. As a 19-year-old newbie from the Philippines, she beat LPGA’s A-listers in a playoff victory at no less than the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.
Many thought the young lass, who grew up in San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, would soon take women’s golf by storm and become so sensational that titles and majors would follow in her wake. As we know, this did not happen. Months stretched into years, and Yuka played like an ordinary mortal, swinging away week after week without leaving her mark. True, she was occasionally a contender. And, true, she was earning money running into the millions of pesos. But where was the thrill there? What she, and followers back in the Philippines, wanted was a win.
During the winless years, she admits that it occurred to her that she may never win again. Apparently, she never gave up, she toiled on those greens, made herself better, and waited to catch the opportunity. When the win came a few days ago, Yuka was reduced to tears. “I think I really wanted it,” Saso said in a post-game interview. “Not just to get a second win, but also to prove something to myself. I haven't won in two-and-a-half or three years. I definitely had a little doubt if I can win again or if I won't win again. But I think those experiences helped a lot, and I think I was able to prove a little bit something to myself. “Since 2021, I haven't won after that. I think it makes it special because after a long wait, and I wasn't expecting to win the U.S. Women's Open. The last time, too, I wasn't expecting it, and this time, too, I wasn't expecting it. I think that's why it made me a bit emotional. Winning just makes you look back on all the things that your family and your team and my sponsors, they supported me throughout good or bad.”
The win was not without its financial rewards. Yuka banked $2.4 million (P134 million) for the victory, more than twice the $1 million she got in her first U.S. Open. If she were still a Filipino citizen, she would qualify as the richest athlete locally, surpassing the combined earnings of the Top 10 highest paid PBA players. Adding that to her earlier prizes this year, she has amassed more than $2.8 million over the past five months, second only to the total of current leader Nellie Korda ($2.9 million), who has won one major and five titles this year alone.
Saso also became the youngest two-time winner of the U.S. Women’s Open and is the 16th player to win the major championship two or more times in her career. She is also the third player to have majors as her first two wins. Though Saso appears to have cruised to victory with her three-shot win, the road to triumph was actually nerve-wracking. It can also be said that her victory came with the help of early tournament leaders who fell by the wayside as pressure in the contest mounted. Yuka started the final round at 2-under-par for the championship, three behind three leaders — Andrea Lee of the U.S., Minjee Lee of Australia, and Wichanee Meechair of Thailand — who were all tied at 5-under. Hinako Shibuno of Japan was a stroke back at 4-under. But as one mishap after another befell the leaders, Saso calmly took charge and grabbed the lead after a birdie on the 12th hole.
Saso birdied the par-5 13th hole to jump to 3-under, and then put her 188-yard approach shot on the par 4 15th hole to within five feet for another birdie to go 4-under. It was on the next hole that she probably had it all sewed up. She hit the green on the drivable 239-yard par-4 16th hole, for a two-putt birdie to get to 5-under total. With two holes to go and a three-shot lead, Saso momentarily slipped with a bogey on the par-3 17th to drop to 4-under and saw her lead cut down to two. Then there was a bit of drama on the 18th: she missed the green. An LPGA reporter described the moment: “After finding the fairway on the par-4 18th hole, Saso left her second shot short, giving herself a nervy up-and-down to secure the victory. But like a battle-tested veteran, Saso didn’t appear to bat an eye in one of the biggest moments of her young career, chipping her third shot to 21 inches and holing her par putt to post the clubhouse lead at 4-under. “And when Andrea made another bogey on 17 to slip back to 1-under, it was Saso who was celebrating in scoring at Lancaster Country Club, victorious once again at the U.S. Women’s Open.”
Saso scored 2-under-par 68 in the final round and finished at 4-under, while the trio that led at the start of the round had their worst scores in the tournament. Andrea Lee shot 75 and tied for third, Meechai had a 77 and shared sixth place, while Minjee Lee posted a 78 and tied for ninth. Though representing Japan now, Yuka’s victory generated an outpouring of pride among Filipinos, many of whom reprinted photos taken with her in her past existence as member of Philippine teams competing in the Olympics, the Asian Games, and the Southeast Asia Games.
To say she is missed by local fans is an understatement. She was great as a Filipino athlete, but she is also warmly embraced by her new country. Proof of this is a special-edition newspaper blaring her victory hours after her feat, a rare accolade for sports achievement in Japan. Yuka Saso may have been lost these three years — but when she chose to resurrect herself in a sport she loves, both Filipinos and Japanese rejoiced.
Source: spin.ph
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