SAN FRANCISCO – Yuka Saso modeled her golf game after Rory McIlroy, spending hours watching videos of his swing before going to bed each night in order to perfect her own.
All that work paid off and now Saso is a U.S. Open champion just like her idol thanks to a clutch playoff putt after a back-nine collapse by Lexi Thompson.
Saso’s 10-foot putt for birdie on the third playoff hole Sunday helped her edge out Nasa Hataoka and become the second teenager to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
Saso overcame back-to-back double bogeys early in the round to make the playoff and then became the first player from the Philippines to win a golf major.
“I was actually a little upset,” Saso said about her poor start. “But my caddie talked to me and said, ‘Just keep on going; there’s many more holes to go.’ That’s what I did.”
Both players made pars at Nos. 9 and 18 in the two-hole aggregate playoff, sending the tournament to sudden death back at the ninth hole. That set the stage for Saso to win it just up the road from Daly City, dubbed “Little Manila” for its large population of Filipinos.
There were many on hand for the final round, including several with Filipino flags for the occasion.
“I don’t know what’s happening in the Philippines right now, but I’m just thankful that there’s so many people in the Philippines cheering for me,” she said. “I don’t know how to thank them. They gave me so much energy. I want to say thank you to everyone.”
Saso matched 2008 winner Inbee Park as the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion at 19 years, 11 months, 17 days.
Thompson, who had a five-stroke lead after the eighth hole, played the final seven holes in 5 over to finish a stroke back.
Image courtesy of Jed Jacobsohn
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