Yuka Saso Clinches Second US Women’s Open Title, This Time for Japan
This also was her first win since Olympic Club, a victory so surprising she said she wasn’t ready for the spotlight. She handled everything Lancaster and the Women’s Open threw her way.
“I really wanted it, as well — not just to get a second win but also to prove something to myself,” Saso said. “I haven’t won in three years. I definitely had a little doubt if I can win again or if I won’t win again. But yeah, I think those experiences helped a lot, and I think I was able to prove a little bit something to myself.”
Andrea Lee, part of a three-way tie for the lead at the start of this wild day, was the last player who had a chance to catch Saso. But the Stanford alum, a former No. 1 amateur, badly missed her tee shot on the easy 16th and had to settle for par, then took bogey on the 17th. Lee took one last bogey on the 18th for a 75 to tie for third with Ally Ewing (66).
Saso won $2.4 million from the $12 million purse, the largest in women’s golf and in women’s sports at a standalone venue.
The victory also put Saso in position to return to the Olympics — she played for the Philippines in 2021 in the Tokyo Games and tied for ninth. She had to decide before turning 21 which country to represent, and she went with Japan.
She led a strong showing by Japan at Lancaster — five players among the top 10. Saso and Shibuno were the first Japanese players to finish 1-2 in any major.
As much as Saso shined, Sunday was filled with meltdowns. None was more shocking than Minjee Lee, a two-time major champion who captured the Women’s Open at Pine Needles two year ago.
Minjee Lee led by three shots when she got to the sixth hole. She missed a few birdie chances and made two bogeys before making the turn, but still had control. And then her tee shot on the par-3 12th — the same hole where Nelly Korda made 10 in the opening round — came up short and rolled back into the water. She took double bogey to fall into a tie with Saso.
Saso took the lead for good with a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the 13th. Minjee Lee drove into waist-high grass on the 14th, had to take a penalty drop and made another double bogey. She closed with a 78.
“Just missed a couple putts for birdie early and then I kind of blew up from there” she said.
Wichanee Meechai of Thailand, the outsider among the leaders with no LPGA wins and a No. 158 world ranking, fell out early and took a triple bogey on the par-3 sixth. She shot 77.
Saso wasn’t immune from mistakes. She had a four-putt double bogey on the par-3 sixth that left her four shots behind Minjee Lee. That was the last of the mistakes that mattered.
Her big run began with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 12th, followed by a wedge for birdie on No. 13. She hit her approach to 6 feet on the 15th hole and then delivered the winner, a 3-wood to 20 feet on the reachable par-4 16th for a two-putt birdie.
Saso is the second woman to win a major under two flags. Sally Little won the 1980 LPGA Championship for South Africa, and then won the du Maurier Classic in 1988 as an American citizen.
Saso started the final round three shots behind, and it didn’t take long for collapses to unfold.
Andrea Lee three-putted the opening hole and then took double bogey on the fourth when she drove into the creek, hit a tree with her third shot and had to get up-and-down from a bunker for double bogey. Meechai three-putted her first two holes, and then went left of the flag on the par-3 sixth where the green slopes to the left and into the creek.
Saso also needed help in her other US Women’s Open win — Lexi Thompson losing a five-shot lead over the last 10 holes. This time she seized control with a brilliant display of clutching putting and taking advantage of the scoring holes.
She said her emotions were from not expecting to win. It felt that way at Olympic, and it felt that way at Lancaster. This one felt twice as good.