YUKA Saso settled down in the last nine holes yesterday en route to a 71 and in a 16-way tie for 15th place at the start of the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup at the Ibaraki Golf Club East Course in Tsukubamirai, Japan.
Teeing off from hole No. 10, Saso slipped with a bogey on the 12th hole but offset that on the front nine with three birdies, including back-to-back on holes Nos. 8 and 9, against one bogey over the par-72, 6,630-yard layout on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Marking her return on the Japanese LPGA tour after more than a month’s absence, the Filipino-Japanese stood five strokes behind pacesetting 15-year Japanese tour veteran Ritsuko Ryu, who sizzled with a 66 and led compatriot Momosako Osato by one shot.
The World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup is considered one of the majors of the Japanese ladies tour and is returning to the scene after an absence of two years largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prestigious 72-hole tournament has a total pot of 120 million yen (roughly P52 million) with the champion taking home 24 million yen (P10.5 million).
Saso last saw action in Japan during the T-Point Eneos golf championship in early March, finishing in a tie for 50th spot to take home 400,000 yen (P175,000).
