YUKA Saso slumped to a costly 73 yesterday and finished in a tie for third at the close of the Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open at the Elleair Golf Club in Matsuyama, Japan.
Down by two shots going into final round, Saso got untracked with a bogey on the first hole and just when it looked like her game was picking up with a birdie on No. 6 she got bogged down with a double bogey on the next hole on the way to her worst round in the 72-hole event.
The 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist pooled 275 in a deadlock with Japanese Eriika Kikuchi, each going home with 6,500,000 yen (roughly P2.7 million), six shots behind winner Ayaka Furue, who closed out with a 69 and 269 to bag the championship purse of 18,000,000 yen (P8.3 million).
Along with her win in the 3th Itoen Ladies golf championship, Furue wrested the Mercedes women’s rankings top spot from Saso and now leads the way with 1,131.78 points while the Pinay Japanese LPGA tour rookie slipped to second with 1,048.85 points.
Their duel for the distinction as the top player on the Japanese LPGA tour will be decided this weekend in the circuit’s final event, the JPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup at the Miyazki Country Club in Miyazaki, Japan.
