How a banana helped Yuka Saso win the 2021 US Women's Open
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-Japanese golf ace Yuka Saso cemented her status as one of the top golfers in the world with her cardiac win in the 2021 US Women's Open.
Faced against one of the top players in the world in Nasa Hataoka in a sudden death playoff for the title, Saso showed nerves of steel.
However, not known to many, Saso had a secret weapon that led to the last two shots that gave her a first-ever LPGA major title: a banana.
Months removed from her title run, Saso recalled how her caddy Lionel Matichuk keyed her victory with the snack.
Yuka takes the audience back to the moment of her winning the US Open last year
— Luisa Morales (@mluisamorales_) February 21, 2022
She says it was a banana given to her by her caddy that was the key to her win as she struggled with a stomach ache during the competition | @StarSportsHub @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/F8MVEinG4y
"Before mag-start yung Hole 17, sumakit yung tyan ko. Kasi nakalimutan ko po kumain in between the holes and after po nung Round, imbes na makafocus ako sa sudden death, gusto talaga pumunta ng CR," Saso recalled with a laugh in a press conference with Philippine media in Solaire Resort and Casino on Monday.
"Di po masyado ako kinabahan nun kasi nga po sobrang sakit ng tyan ko nun... And then [nung] yung last playoff na po, caddy ko, si Lionel Matichuk, he gave me a banana [and] I ate that while walking down the fairway going to the second shot, nawala po yung sakit ng tyan ko," she added.
When Saso first teed off in Hole 9, where the final playoff hole would commence, she actually had a worse shot compared to Hataoka who found herself in the fairway as compared to Saso who had to dig herself out of the rough.
But with the banana, Saso said, she was able to concentrate more and have a better second shot that poised her to get the title-clinching birdie.
"So thank you to the banana," Saso quipped.
"Ang ganda ng second shot. I think I had eight, nine feet to make a birdie and I did. It felt really good but it didn't really sunk in until the next day," she added.
Saso is now in the Philippines ahead of her preparation for the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore and the Honda LPGA Thailand.
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