MANILA, Philippines — Yuka Saso gained five rungs on a victory in the US Girls Junior PGA and a semifinal finish in the US Girls Junior last month, barging into the Top 20 and posting the biggest leap in the World Amateur Golf Ranking last week.
Swede Frida Kinhult kept her hold of the top spot with 1416 points average, so did the next nine players – Andrea Lee and Lucy Li of the US, Thai Atthaya Thitikul, Swiss Albane Valenzuela, Italy’s Alessia Nobilio, Korean Jiwon Jeon, Emilia Migliaccio of the US, France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Germany’s Leonie Harm.
Saso, the reigning Asian Games double gold medalist, stayed at No. 25 for a number of weeks but considerably improved with a come-from-behind win in Connecticut. She, however, fell short in her US Girls Junior title bid, losing to Florida’s Jillian Bourdage in the semis.