Saso ends Honda LPGA Thailand on high note with eagle-spiked 62

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 10:39 p.m.) — Yuka Saso tied the tournament-best 10-under 62 with a brilliant, bogey-free card to salvage a joint 12th finish in the Honda LPGA Thailand that concluded with an emotional playoff triumph for Dane Nanna Madsen at dusk in Chonburi Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

In one of the most drama-filled finales marred by another weather delay, Madsen cracked under pressure but delivered when it mattered most, stroking a straight-up downhill putt from 12 feet for eagle and frustrating Chinese Xiyu Lin in a dramatic duel of talents seeking their breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour.

But Madsen came out the victor – and $240,000 richer – at the end of a grueling, tense-filled day, pulling off a big iron shot from just around 130 yards off the left rough, the ball sailing in dark skies before dropping just below the pin before resting some 12 feet past the cup.

Earlier in regulation, she hit an errant shot from practically the same spot, the ball soaring all the way to the hospitality box No. 2. She chipped short and putted four-feet past the hole and missed for bogey, ending up with a 67 and setting the stage for a playoff at 26-under 262 as Lin closed out with a two-putt birdie for a 66.

They matched birdies on the first playoff hole with Lin nearly clinching it with a chip shot for eagle that stopped on the edge of the cup. Madsen, meanwhile, putted from outside of the green to within four feet to stay in the hunt.

Lin earlier birdied the par-5 18th in regulation to finish with a six-under round, gain a two-shot swing and force a playoff at 262 as Madsen, who led by as many as four with four holes left, succumbed under crushing pressure and missed wrapping it up with a bogey following two errant shots off the mound.

French Celine Boutier succeeded where Lin had failed, chipping for eagle on the closing hole to fire a 67 and finish solo third at 263, just one off the playoff picture, while three-time champion Amy Yang of Korea and Canadian Brooke Henderson tied at 265 after a 64 and 67, respectively.

Korean Hyo Joo Kim shot a 65 while Jennifer Kupcho of the US carded a 67 as shared sixth place at 266 while American Daniella Kang aced No. 8 to shoot a 66 to tie Thai Atthaya Thitikul, who rallied with a 65, and Japanese Hinako Shibuno, who also closed out with a 67, at eighth with 268.

Saso ended up tied at 12th at 19-under 269 with six others, including world No. 4 Minjee Lee of Australia, who carded a 69.

A birdie away from posting a career-best, the ICTSI-backed Saso seized the moment and tamed the par-4 No. 9 of Pattaya’s Old course, capping a spectacular round missing in her past seven rounds, including four at the Women’s World Championship in Singapore last week where she limped to joint 43rd.

With rounds of 68-70-69 on a course that took a severe beating from the revered women of the tour, Saso lay too far behind at joint 34th at the start of the final round, 12 strokes off Madsen.

But her backside start in calm conditions yielded a birdie on No. 10, then she hit another on No. 13 and eagled the drivable par-4 No. 15 before closing out with back-to-back birdies.

She made it a three-birdie binge on the first hole, gained strokes on Nos. 6 and 7 before draining another on the ninth for a blistering, bogey-free 32-30 feat that bested the opening 63s posted by Su Oh, Nasa Hataoka and Esther Henseleit Thursday.

Though she missed posting a Top 10 finish, her final round rebound should hint at a more explosive outing when the Tour heads back to the US for the JTBC Classic in Carlsbad, California on March 24-27 and in time for the season’s first major, the $5 million Chevron Championship on March 31-April 3 at Mission Hills’ Dinah Shore course in Rancho Mirage, also in California.

She missed just two fairways on a 272-yard driving norm and hit all but one green while posting an impressive 25-putt performance to match American Jennifer Korda's 62 in winning the 2018 edition of the annual event.

Her previous best was 63, also spiked by an eagle, in the third round of the NEC Karuizawa, which she won in just her second tournament on the LPGA of Japan Tour in 2020. She followed it up with another victory in the next event, the Nitori Ladies.

She also fired a 63, on nine birdies, in the third round of the TOTO Japan Classic where she placed second, also in 2020.