YUKA Saso failed to gain headway on the leaders after shooting a 72 yesterday (Saturday in the US) and was stuck in a two-way tie for fourth place after three rounds of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio tournament at the gusty Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
Four shots behind entering the penultimate round, Saso had an erratic round with three birdies with an equal number of bogeys over the wind-swept par-72 6,701-yard layout that wreaked havoc over the remaining field.
The reigning US Women’s Open champion was tied at 209 with Englishwoman Charley Hull, who had a 71, four strokes behind New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who also shot a 72, just one of four players to break par, and clung to a two-shot lead over American Danielle Kang, who slipped to second with a 74.
Saso’s former compatriot and national teammate Bianca Pagdanganan bowed out early, failing to make the cut after shooting a 72 and 76, respectively, in the first rounds in the $2 million tournament offering a top prize of $300,000 (around P15.4 million).
Although she sustained her streak of not missing the cut in the US LPGA tour since winning the US Women’s Open in June last year, the Filipino-Japanese, competing in her second straight event as a Japanese citizen, had a sub-par outing measured by her own lofty standards.
