'19-year-old Non-Member' Saso "I am the US Women's Open Champ"... Ko Jin-young and Park In-bee 'Tied 7th'

Hataoka Defeats on Third Playoff Hole for Youngest Win at US Women's Open Final Day, Thompson 3rd, Lee Jeong-eun 6th T12, Amateur Kane T14

Yuka Saso is cheering after securing victory in a playoff battle on the final day of the US Women's Open. San Francisco, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter Noo Rae] “19-year-old non-member” Yuka Saso (Philippines) caused a sensation by capturing the “National Title of the United States.”

On the 7th (Korean time) at The Olympic Golf Course in San Francisco, California, USA (par 71, 6,383 yards), the final day of the US Women’s Open, a major on the LPGA Tour (total prize money $5.5 million), she tied with Nasa Hataoka (Japan) at 2-over par (4-under 280) and won with a “winning birdie” on the third hole of the playoff at the 9th hole (par 4). She earned her first LPGA Tour victory and received a winner’s prize of $1 million (1.12 billion KRW).

Following Lee Jeong-eun 6 (25, Daebang Construction) in 2019 and Kim A-lim (26, SBI Savings Bank) last year, this is the third consecutive non-member victory. She tied the record as the youngest winner ever (19 years, 11 months, 17 days), previously set by Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) in 2008. Also, she is the second player with Philippine nationality to win after Jennifer Rosales, who won the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in 2004 and the SBS Open in 2005. Saso was born to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother.

She has been a promising player sweeping the Asian women’s golf scene since her junior days. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, she swept gold medals in both the women’s individual and team golf events. Turning professional in 2019, she mainly competes on the LPGA of Japan Tour. Last year, she secured two wins on the Japanese circuit. Although her stature is not tall at 166 cm, she possesses remarkable driving power. In this tournament, her average drive distance was 279 yards.

Her short game skills are also excellent, and she is regarded as a player who could challenge the world No. 1 ranking. Saso started in second place, one stroke behind, recording three birdies, one bogey, and two double bogeys. In the playoff combining two holes played at the 9th and 18th holes (par 4), the match remained tied at even par, and on the third playoff hole at the 9th, she made a 2.5-meter winning birdie. “It was an honor just to participate,” she exclaimed, “Something truly unbelievable happened.”

Hataoka showed strong finishing with 3-under par but was satisfied with her best season result. Lexi Thompson (USA), who was the leader by one stroke the previous day, collapsed with 4-over par and dropped to third place (3-under 281). Leading by four strokes through the 10th hole, she lost five strokes over the remaining eight holes. Mega Gane (USA), a high school amateur who caused a sensation after qualifying through regional preliminaries, lost six strokes and finished tied for 14th (3-over 287).

Korea’s world No. 1 Ko Jin-young (26) posted 2-under par to rise to a tie for 7th place (1-over 285). Park In-bee, who was aiming for her third win following 2008 and 2013, is also in this group. Lee Jeong-eun 6 (25, Daebang Construction), who was tied for 3rd the previous day, struggled with 5-over par and dropped to a tie for 12th (2-over 286). Kim Se-young (28, Mediheal) is tied for 16th (4-over 288), and Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) is tied for 20th (5-over 289).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.