Saso bombs out with 76, ends up joint 13th in Japan LPGA tourney

MANILA, Philippines — Yuka Saso’s stab at a first major crown and a third LPGA of Japan Tour leg victory ended in a disappointing joint 13th finish as she reeled with a flawed start and a shaky finish for a four-over 76 in the Japan LPGA Championship ruled by Saki Nagamine in Okayama Sunday.

Nagamine charged back from four down off a hot-starting Hee Kyung Bae and wrested control with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 8 then checked a looming skid with clutch pars in a tense backside battle to close out with a 69. She claimed her first major victory and second career win via a one-stroke triumph over Na-Ri Lee (67), Ayako Kimura (69) and Hikari Tanabe (71) on a 12-under 276 total at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club.

The 25-year-old Nagamine, who topped the Fujisankei Classic in 2018, also pocketed the juicy Y36 million purse a week after missing the cut at Golf5 Ladies, her earnings lifting her from No. 25 to No. 3 in the Mercedes ranking with 489.75 points behind winnings of Y44,440,000.

Despite another outside Top 10 finish, Saso, who tied for 29th at Golf5 Ladies after scoring back-to-back title romps at NEC Karuizawa and Nitori Ladies, kept her top ranking in the Player of the Year derby, her Y2,640,000 prize hiking her winnings to Y62,088,000 worth 644.85 points.

But it was a frustrating closeout round for the power-hitting Fil-Japanese, the most consistent among the contenders in the first three days as she stayed two strokes off the pace amid a constant change in leadership.

However, after a run of five pars in the final round, marred by a couple of flubbed birdie chances, the ICTSI-backed ace fell farther back with bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 and never recovered. She dropped another stroke on No. 10, hit a birdie on the 12th but bogeyed two of the last three, including the tough finishing par-5 hole.

She wound up with a 283 that included a 68, a 70 and a 69, outputs that kept the 19-year-old 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist on track for a third leg victory and a crack at a major championship at her very first try.

For a while, halfway leader Bae appeared headed for a romp as she sizzled with four birdies in the five holes in sunny skies, burying putts from all ranges, including a monster 30-footer on No. 5 that put her three shots clear of Nagamine, Tanabe and Sayaka Takahashi and six ahead of Saso, who dropped out of the race with those back-to-back mishaps from No. 6.

But Bae lost her touch and all just as quickly, falling off the leaderboard with a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 8. She yielded another stroke on the ninth and bowed out with another 5 on the par-3 15th.

After storming ahead by three with five birdies after 11 holes, Nagamine wavered with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 16, enabling a slew of others to close in, led by Lee, playing four flights ahead of the final group, who pulled within one with a birdie on No. 17 but muffed a playoff-clinching birdie putt from eight feet on the last hole.

Lee, Kimura and Tanabe finished with 277s while Bae ended up with a 72 for fifth at 278 followed by Golf5 Ladies winner Sakura Koiwai (72-279) while Shina Kanazawa (70) and third round leader Yuna Nishimura (76) shared seventh place with 281s.

Koiwai also moved a rung higher to No. 2 in the Mercedes ranking with 536.50 (Y39,640,000) heading to next week’s Desant Ladies Tokai Classic in Aichi, as erstwhile second-running and Earth Mondahmin Cup winner Ayaka Watanabe slipped to No. 3 after missing the cut this week.

Matching Saso’s 283 were Eri Jouma and Ritsuko Ryu, who both matched par 72s, 2015 titlist Teresa Lu (73) and first day co-leader Lee Min-Young (75).