UNLIKE last year, Yuka Saso will be the country’s lone standard-bearer in the star-studded $5.5 million 76th US Women’s Open teeing off today (Thursday in the US) at the Olympic Club Lake course in San Francisco.
Saso made her maiden appearance in the prestigious event last December, which was reset due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the company of former national teammate Bianca Pagdangan at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
While the 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist performed respectably in winding up in a seven-way tie for 13th place after carding a four-round tally of 289 (69-71-77-72), Pagdangan missed the 36-hole cut.
The Filipino-Japanese finished eight shots behind South Korean A. Lim Kim, who won ruled the tourney on her first try.
Saso will be among 156 golfers from 26 countries seeking fame and glory in the blue-ribbon competition being held for the first time at 97-year-old par-71, 6,546-yard layout offering a top prize of $1.5 million (roughly P71.688 million).
American literary giant Mark Twain, former world heavyweight champion Jim Corbett, and publishing tycoon Randolph Hearst were among the Olympic Club’s prominent members.
A regular on the Japanese LPGA tour, Saso will once again face a daunting challenge as 13 current and past US Women’s champions are vying in the 72-hole competition, bannered by two-time South Korean titlist Inbee Park (2005 and 2013).
A strong finish in the tournament will likely cement an Olympic spot for Saso, who has maintained her 22nd ranking in the International Golf Federation Olympic qualifying standings with barely three weeks to go before the cut-off date on June 28. Pagdanganan is lodged at 43rd spot.
The top 60 golfers in the list will be eligible to play in the Tokyo Olympics, with the leading 15 earning outright slots limited to four entries per country.
