The Philippine Yuka Saso was proclaimed this Sunday champion of the Women’s United States Golf Open by beating Japan’s Nasa Hataoka on the third playoff hole and becoming the second teenager to do so at 19.
Saso concluded the fourth round tied with Hataoka with a cumulative 280 hits (-4) after having handed over a card of 73 (+2) for 68 (-3) of the Japanese golfer.
While the American Lexi Thompson, who had reached the lead in the last round, had to settle for third place after delivering a signed card of 75 (+4) and accumulate 281 (-3).
Her compatriot Megan Khang and China’s Shanshan Feng ended up sharing fourth place with a cumulative score of 282 (-2).
Saso’s 10-foot birdie putt on the third hole of the playoffs on Sunday helped her pass Hataoka and enter tournament history. by becoming the first Filipino player to get a major.
“Actually, she was a bit upset,” Saso said of her bad start. “But my caddy spoke to me and said, ‘Go ahead; there are many holes to go. ‘ That ‘s what I did”.
Both players made pairs at numbers 9 and 18 in the two-hole global tiebreaker, sending the tournament to sudden death on the ninth hole.
That set the stage for Saso to win it right down the street in Daly City, nicknamed “Little Manila.” for its large population of Filipinos.
Saso equaled 2008 winner Inbee Park as the youngest US Women’s Open champion at age 19, 11 months and 17 days.
Immediately after his victory, Saso accepted membership to the LPGA Tour.
The new champion got a five-year exemption. She is the 21st player to make the US Women’s Open title her first LPGA Tour victory.
Thompson, who had a 5-stroke lead after the eighth hole, played the last seven holes at 5 to finish a hit above par.
“I really didn’t feel like I made bad golf shots,” he said. “That’s what this golf course can do to you, and that’s what I’ve been saying all week. “
The only other players who finished below par in the Lake Course at the Olympic Club were Khang and Feng, both 2 under par.
High school student Megha Ganne she played in the final group, but shot 77 and finished 3 more as the tournament’s bottom amateur.
“I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life,” Ganne declared. “It’s everything I’ve wanted since I was little, so it’s the best feeling.”
While María Parra was the best Spanish in the tournament at the conclusion of the fourth round with a record of 76 (+5) and accumulated of 294 (+10) That left her in thirty-fifth place, shared with five other players.
His compatriot Carlota Ciganda was placed in the forty-ninth place with accumulated 297 strokes (+13), that she shared with four other players after delivering a final score of 72 (+1).
The third Spanish player who played the weekend, Luna Sobrón, who went from more to less, finished with a record of 80 strokes (+9) and a cumulative of 299 (+15), which lowered her to 57th place along with three other players.
The Mexican Gaby López, the only Latin American who made the cut, finished the fourth round with a record of 73 (+2) for a cumulative 295 (+11), which left her in the forty-first place to share with four other players.
