IN pocketing the NEC Karuizawa Open and becoming the first Filipina to win in the prestige-laden Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), Yuka Saso zoomed amazingly to a pinnacle achieved by someone so young.
Only 19 years old, Saso stunned not only the proud Japanese but the world as well with a final-round, nine-under-par 63, running away with the victory while being only a professional for a mere three months.
Definitely, she’s a burst of sunlight amid the gloom of the pandemic.
“Before the final round,” said Saso, “I was still looking for consistency.”
How true as she shot 72 in the second round after a brilliant 66.
And was the stigma of her failed pro debut in the ISPS Handa Classic in June suddenly haunting her?
Saso missed the cut there and that might have been a dampener for any dream-chaser, coming after failing to earn her US LPGA card earlier.
But Saso is made of sterner stuff, proving it almost in an instant by bouncing back strongly to finish a fighting fifth in her next assignment, the Earth Mondahmin Cup.
“I’ve always known Yuka as a fighter, someone who has the heart of an inherent warrior,” said Diamond Motors’ George Blaylock, a consistent supporter since Day One of Saso’s career.
With that second-round 72 dropping her suddenly to third place going to the final round, Saso summoned strength after strength with every shot she made in the final round.
“I just tried to hit all my shots well,” she said.
She did. And she must have even done it so well that her four-shot victory in the happiest weekend of her life netted her the P6.6 million champion’s purse, the biggest single paycheck of all time won by any Filipino golfer.
With her steely resolve to “hit all my shots well” in place—good golf, indeed, is hitting all your shots well—Saso birdied five of her first nine holes to grab the lead, never relinquishing it and even finishing her crown-clinching round with a flourish.
Cruising already to a virtual victory after leading by two shots with two holes to go, Saso showed some bravado that all the more endeared her to her fans and even to her closest rivals and peers.
Gazing at the green of the par-5 16th 200 yards away, Saso, without hesitation, pulled out a 6-iron, planted it spectacularly to within eight feet, and made the eagle putt.
That gave her a four-shot lead that she carried mightily after the 18th hole to embellish her triumph for the ages.
With that, the tough-as-nails teenager stared at an P11.5-million bankbook, adding her P4.5 million fifth-place winnings at the Mondahmin Cup.
“Her win is the first of many more,” said Rick Gibson, who was the national team coach when Saso won the gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games where she also spiked the victory with an eagle.
Ah, that eagle.
Saso also had 200 yards for her approach at the par-five 16th. That time, she hit a 4-iron, landing it on the fringe 15 feet away. Dramatically, she drained the putt to ensure victory.
And to think that this time, last weekend in Japan, Yuka used a 6-iron from 200 yards in gobbling up another eagle. What a tremendous improvement in length.
Need I stress the obvious that the future is here?
THAT’S IT LeBron James and the No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers face today Damian Lillard and the No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association West first-round playoffs opener at 9 a.m. No, not beer. Wine’s more like it beside the lazy boy.