LANCASTER, Pa. — As she stood on the 18th inexperienced at Lancaster Nation Membership late Sunday, clutching the Harton S. Semple Trophy for the second time in her younger profession, Yuka Saso paused, seemed down and let the wave of emotion register.
“My household,” she stated tearfully, ultimately talking after the horde of onlookers gathered across the gap clapped and cheered encouragement, “I would not be right here with out their help.”
It was becoming then that three years after gifting her mother with a U.S. Ladies’s Open win, the 22-year-old might give the same current to her father.
“It is only a great feeling that I used to be capable of give again to my mother and father in the identical means,” Saso stated.
AgeYearsYuka Saso22-3472021, 2024Hollis Stacy24-1291977, 1978Mickey Wright24-1331958, 1959Inbee Park24-3432008, 2013– ESPN Stats & Data
In 2021, Saso grew to become the primary golfer from the Philippines — the identical nation of her mom’s origin — to win the U.S. Ladies’s Open. Months later, whereas holding twin Philippine/Japanese citizenship, she determined to as an alternative solely characterize her father’s native Japan and has been enjoying beneath that nation’s banner since.
Saso’s win places her in place to compete for Japan on the Olympics later this summer time. She represented the Philippines within the Tokyo Video games in 2021.
Sunday’s victory was additionally the primary Saso has had in any match since her first U.S. Ladies’s Open win. The lengthy layoff between trophy shows induced her to marvel if she ever would end atop an occasion once more.
“I positively had a bit of doubt if I can win once more,” she stated. “It simply makes it particular as a result of after a protracted wait — I wasn’t anticipating to win the U.S. Ladies’s Open. Each time, final time, too, I wasn’t anticipating it, and this time, too, I wasn’t anticipating it.
“I feel that is why it made me a bit emotional.”
Saso gained $2.4 million from the $12 million purse, the most important in girls’s golf and in girls’s sports activities at a stand-alone venue.
At 22 years, 347 days, she grew to become the youngest two-time champion in Open historical past.
This time, her win was the byproduct of a livid cost up the leaderboard on the ultimate day. She entered at 2-under general, three photographs off the lead.
By the top of the day, Saso stood alone, carding a 2-under 68 for a 3-shot win. On a day that noticed a lot of the highest of the sector collapse, Saso’s win was all however determined earlier than the ultimate two teams got here off the course.
As she buried a par putt on No. 18 to all however ice the victory, Saso gave a muted, left-armed fist pump, hugged caddie Dylan Vallequette, and casually walked off the course as a number of followers loudly chanted, “Yu! Yu! Yu!”
“I am undecided how the opposite gamers performed. I wasn’t trying on the scoreboard,” Saso stated. “I wasn’t too relaxed to have the ability to see the scoreboard. I simply tried to be targeted on my routine and my recreation.”
With Saso rattling off 4 back-9 birdies — serving to to negate a double bogey on No. 6 — her rivals misplaced their respective grips on the lead.
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First, it was Wichanee Meechai. A co-leader coming into Sunday at 5 underneath, Meechai was flat early, with bogeys on the primary two holes and a double bogey on the par-3 sixth. Meechai’s tee shot on No. 6 approached the pin firmly, and at first seemed like a possible birdie alternative. However as an alternative of sticking its touchdown, the ball slipped off one of many course’s notoriously unforgiving greens and fell right into a water hazard alongside the left aspect.
“It is the U.S. Open. The pins had been so arduous,” Meechai stated. “Generally you may play dangerous golf on in the future, however I am sort of pleased with myself that I can deal with this week fairly good.”
Meechai completed tied for sixth; in three earlier tries on the Open, she had by no means completed higher than thirtieth.
Whereas Meechai was falling out of the lead, her fellow co-leaders coming into the day additionally could not preserve tempo. Minjee Lee had a hellacious again 9, sandwiching a pair of bogeys with double bogeys on Nos. 12 and 14. She completed tied for ninth.
American Andrea Lee had a pair of pricey bogeys on the ultimate two holes to drop to even for the match and right into a tie for third.
“I positively realized rather a lot this week about myself,” stated Lee, the 25-year-old from Southern California. “I do belong out right here, and I really feel like I’m adequate to win and be in rivalry for main championships. I simply have to do higher.”
One other American, 31-year-old Ally Ewing, had Sunday’s finest rating, a 66. After opening the spherical 9 photographs off the lead at 4 over, Ewing completed simply 4 photographs again.
“For any golfer, we wish to peak round main championships,” Ewing stated. “Beginning the week with a 4 over after which simply regularly enjoying the golf course higher and higher, executing extra photographs, it is only a actually good feeling.
“This was the place I made my first skilled U.S. Open begin, so actually good recollections for Lancaster now.”
Data from The Related Press was used on this report.
