Saso skids to joint 30th; Chun rebounds to win 3rd major

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso’s bid for a Top 10 finish fizzled out on a faulty frontside run, leading to a 77 and a tied for 30th effort in the Women’s PGA Championship ruled by In Gee Chun in wire-to-wire fashion in Bethesda, Maryland.

But the crown nearly slipped out of the Korean’s grasp after she cracked under pressure and blew a three-stroke lead with an uncharacteristic 40 at the front, the same output put in by Saso in her futile attempt to check on her shaky long game, iron play and putting.

But Chun put her act together in the last nine holes, hitting a clutch birdie on No. 16 to buck a second straight 75 and then watching Lexi Thompson self-destruct with another late foldup to nail her third major championship on a 283 total worth a whopping $1.350 million.

Thompson, who battled back from 10 shots down in the first round to pull within three after 54 holes, birdied two of the first two holes and stormed past Chun with a frontside 35. But the ghost of her late-round collapses visited her again Sunday as she bogeyed Nos. 16 and 17, hobbled with a 73 and lost by one with a 284.

Aussie Minjee Lee birdied the last to save a 70 and earn a share of second with the American worth $718,827 each.

Saso had looked forward to putting up a strong finish after moving to joint 12th in the third round despite a 73. But a bogey on No. 2, a double bogey on the fifth and another mishap on No. 7 all but foiled her drive for a big windup after missing the cut in her last two LPGA events, including the US Women’s Open she ruled in playoff fashion last year.

She birdied the 11th but bogeyed the next two holes, gained a stroke on No. 14 but holed out with another bogey for that 77 and a 292. She pocketed $59,987 (P3.3 million).

ICTSI teammate Bianca Pagdanangan also hobbled with a 78 marred by seven bogeys against a lone bogey as she ended up at joint 65th at 301 and received $20,072 (P1.1 million).

Poor putting compounded Saso’s woes in the final 18 holes of the $9 million event, winding up with 36 putts on top of missing five fairways and five greens while Pagdanganan hit just eight fairways and nine greens and finished with 32 putts, including two sand saves.

But it was Chun who made the day’s biggest save, enduring back-to-back three-over cards to win by the slimmest of margins.

Chun, 27, led by seven in the first round off a fiery 64 in wet conditions, kept a five-shot lead in the next and sat on a three-stroke cushion despite a third round 75. But she lost it on an error-field frontside, enabling Thompson to seize control and spark hopes for the latter, who hasn’t won an LPGA title since 2019, her lone major win coming at Mission Hills in 2014.

As Thompson crumbled, Chun kept her composure, making a two-putt par from just outside the 18th green to clinch her third major championship after ruling the 2015 US Women's Open and the Evian Championship in 2016.

“First nine holes, I got a lot of pressure. I couldn’t enjoy playing golf,” said Chun, after dropping four strokes after nine holes, including on the two par-5s. “But I believed that if I stuck to my game plan and then I believed that I had a chance on the back nine. So, I tried to hang in there. I’m so happy I made it.”

Thompson also held a five-shot lead in last year’s US Women’s Open but blew it on a backside meltdown that paved the way for Saso’s win over Nasa Hataoka on the third playoff hole.

While it was a big win for Chun, it was another heartbreaker for Thompson, who was so upset with her backside finish and declined to speak with the media after the round.

Over on the Epson Tour, Filipino-American Clariss Guce fired a 71 and tied for third at 206 in the Island Resort Championship topped by Taiwanese Ssu-Chia Cheng, who closed out with a 67n for an impressive 17-under 199 in Harris, Michigan, also Sunday.