Late tap-in birdie keeps Saso in the hunt

MANILA, Philippines — Hounded by wobbly putting all day, Yuka Saso banked on her power to finally birdie the tricky par-5 18th after back-to-back mishaps, spiking a solid 69 and keeping her on track for a third victory and a first major triumph in the Japan LPGA Championship that produced a new leader Saturday.

Though the JLPGA two-leg winner and money leader dropped from joint second to a share of fourth, her 35-34 card at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama and a 207 kept her within striking distance of Yuna Nishimura, who hit late birdies to anchor a 67 for a 205 and a one-shot lead over Hiraki Tanabe (67) and halfway leader Hee Kyung Bae (70) of Korea, who assembled identical 206s.

Finally finding her stride off the mound after missing 17 fairways in the first two days of the Y200 million championship, Saso kept the ball in the fairway practically all throughout in calm conditions and came through with superb iron shots that set up a number of birdie opportunities.

But counting out her two other feats on Nos. 2 and 14, the ICTSI-backed ace struggled all day on the undulating surface of the links course, missing at least six birdie chances, including a three-footer on No. 12 that even saw Bae react rather disappointedly, and on No. 17 from four feet that had the 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist shaking her head in disbelief.

But she turned those miscues into a driving force, hitting a solid 3-wood tee-shot on the 510-yard 18th and blasting an equally superb utility shot from the center of the fairway past the cup to the edge of the green for a two-putt birdie.

That emphatic last-hole feat, which came on the heels of her missed green and three-putt miscues in the first two days, is expected fire up the NEC Karuizawa and NItori Ladies champion all the more as she guns not only for another Y36 million purse and a third title but also a new event record.

Saso, 19, is aiming to become the youngest winner of one of JLPGA Tour’s majors, and the first rookie, after Ai Suzuki ruled this premier event in 2014 at age 20.

But it will take a lot of hard work, determination and guts to accomplish the mission as Nishimura, 20, also looked headed for a strong finish after seizing control with seven birdies against two bogeys, and Tanabe also served notice of her title bid with a bogey-free 33-34.

Like Saso, Bae also groped for her putting touch and squandered a number of birdie chances but still stayed in the hunt with a two-birdie, no-bogey round in cloudy skies.
Others tipped to contend are Sayaka Takahashi, who shot a 69, Saki Nagamine, who fired a 68, and Golf5 Ladies winner Sakura Koiwai, who also carded a 68, who all pooled 207 to tie Saso at fourth.

Another shot back at 208 were first round co-leader Min-Young Lee and Ayaka Kimura, who turned in 68 and 70, respectively, while Momo Yoshikawa moved to solo 10th with a 70 and a 209, just four strokes behind Nishimura.