MANILA, Philippines — Two weeks after her milestone US Women’s Open triumph, Philippine ace Yuka Saso embarks on another spirited bid for top honors starting today in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Johns Creek, Georgia.
Saso, who tied the record as the youngest US Open winner at age 19, seeks to sustain the charge in the $4.5 million event as she shoots for back-to-back majors conquest that will make her star shine even brighter.
Now a full member of the LPGA, the Japan-based Saso gets a crack at another record in the prestigious tour.
A win at the Atlanta Athletic Club will put Saso in the elite company of Beverly Hanson (1951 Eastern Open) and Jin Young Ko (2018 Women’s Australian Open) as the only players in LPGA history to win their first start as a tour member.
The ICTSI-backed Saso begins her quest at 8:38 a.m. in an explosive flight with three-time Women’s PGA champion Inbee Park and one-time major winner Lexi Thompson. The trio tees off at the No. 1 hole of the par-72, 6,831-yard Highlands Course.
The power-hitting Saso, who just turned 20 last June 20, carries the Philippine flag along with Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina.
Pagdanganan hits the course at 8:27 a.m. with American flightmates Jennifer Kupcho and Brittany Lincicome from the first hole while Ardina gets going at 9:27 a.m. in the company of former USWO champ Jeonggeun Lee6 of Korea and Alisa Rodriguez of the US from No. 10.
The 23-year-old Pagdanganan and Ardina, 27, aim to bounce back after missing the cut in the previous week’s LPGA Meijer Classic.