MANILA, Philippines – Three missed cuts in the last four tournaments, including back-to-back in a botched US Women’s Open title defense and in last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic, have typified Yuka Saso’s struggle since ending an impressive 22-tournament run of weekend appearances in the LPGA Drive On Championship in Florida last February.
In fact, Saso dropped two rungs to No. 16 in the latest world rankings heading to the season’s third major championship — the KPMG Women’s PGA firing off Thursday (Friday, Manila time) at the Congressional Country Club’s Blue course in Bethesda, Maryland.
And her recent form has kept her out of the major conversations although there is no way for the ICTSI-backed ace, who reached a career-best No. 5 ranking in October 2021, to go but up.
But it will take a lot of adjustments and hard work for her to get back into a major form with majority in the elite PGA field in top shape, including world No. 2 and defending champion Nelly Korda, Meijer Classic winner Jennifer Kupcho, Aussie Minjee Lee, Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Thai star Atthaya Thitikul.
World No. 1 Jin Young Ko is also coming into the $4.5 million event brimming with confidence, fresh from a much-needed respite after opting to skip the Meijer Classic while the likes of Lexi Thompson of the US, Japanese Nasa Hataoka. Brooke Henderson of Canada and Koreans Hyo Joo Kim, In Bee Park and Sei Young Kim are also all fired-up for a major drive.
But nobody comes into the PGA Championship with as much confidence as Kupcho, who scored a major breakthrough in the Chevron Championship last March and is all primed up for a second feat coming off a rousing victory in the Meijer Classic where she nipped Korda and Leona Maguire in a playoff to snare the crown.
The victory also enabled her to jump seven ranks up to barge into the Top 10 at No. 9, making her the player to watch in this week’s blue-ribbon event.
But Saso is also out for redemption, armed with the same fire and resolve that have marked her rise to golfing fame. She said she’s not pressured to deliver but stressed the need to come up with adjustments in all aspects of her game.
“It’s quite hard to fix your shots once you get onto the course. I need to adjust my play,” said Saso, who hopes to cash in on her length at the long 6,831-yard layout.
She is No. 5 in the average driving distance with 275.288 yards, behind Emily Pedersen (281.483), Nanna Madesen (276.758), ICTSI teammate Bianca Pagdanganan (276.552) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (276.219), and shares top honors with Malaysian Kelly Tan with the most number of eagles made with nine apiece.
Meanwhile, Pagdanganan also seeks to launch a major run after failing to sustain a fine start at Meijer Classic where she opened with a 67 but faded with a pair of 72s before ending up tied at 49th with a closing 70.
Dottie Ardina, whose campaign is also supported by the world’s leading port operator, also hopes to make up for her failed bid last week that saw her miss the cut by just one stroke.