Yuka Saso

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In this Japanese name, the family name is Saso.
Yuka Saso
笹生 優花
— Golfer —
220px
Saso with her two gold medals she won for the Philippines at the 2018 Asian Games
Personal information
Born (2001-06-20) June 20, 2001 (age 23)
San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines[1]
Height 166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Nationality  Philippines (until October 2021)
 Japan (November 2021 – present)
Career
Turned professional 2019
Current tour(s) LPGA of Japan Tour
LPGA Tour
Professional wins 3
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour 1
LPGA of Japan Tour 2
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
ANA Inspiration T17: 2022
Women's PGA C'ship 2nd: 2023
U.S. Women's Open Won: 2021
Women's British Open T39: 2021
Evian Championship T3: 2023

Yuka Saso (笹生 優花 Sasō Yūka?) is a Philippine-born Japanese professional golfer. She competed for the Philippines through 2021, having won the first ever gold medal for the Philippines in both women's individual and women's team event in Asian Games golf competitions.[2][3][4][5] As of 2022, she represents Japan.

Early life

Saso was born on June 20, 2001, to a Filipina mother and a Japanese father, hence her Japanese name.[6] She started training in the sport of golf at the age of eight in 2009.[1] She admired Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy as a role model and watched video clips of him as a teenager, modeling her game after his style.[7]

Amateur career

At the 2017 PSA Annual Awards, Saso received an award for winning the gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Girls Championship as well as leading the Philippines to victory in the team event.[8] Saso competed at the 2018 Women's Victorian Open as a part of the 2018 Ladies European Tour and finished at 17th position in the women's individual event.

With Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go, Saso secured an unexpected historic gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in the women's team event.[9][10][11] She also won the women's individual competition, the first Asian Games gold medal for the Philippines in the women's individual event.[12]

Saso also took part in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she almost won a medal.[13] After the final round of the women's individual competition, two other golfers, Alessia Nobilio of Italy and Emma Spitz of Austria, matched her result of 214 with Kim Grace of Australia winning the gold medal. Saso, Nobilio, and Spitz had to take part in a three-way playoff. Saso narrowly failed to win a medal with Nobilio winning silver and Spitz bronze.[14] Saso also played in the mixed team event pairing with male golfer and compatriot, Carl Jano Corpus.[13]

Saso did not participate in the Southeast Asian Games, opting to skip the regional games due to conflicting schedule in both the 2017[15] and 2019 editions.[16]

Saso is one of the three Filipino golfers who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She finished 9th in the women’s individual event.

Professional career

File:Yuka Saso 2022 stamp of the Philippines.jpg
Saso on a 2022-issued Philippine stamp

Saso turned professional in November 2019 after earning a LPGA of Japan Tour card for 2020.[17] In late June 2020, she made her debut at the Earth Mondahmin Cup in Chiba where she placed fifth.[18]

Saso earned her first victory at the 2020 NEC Karuizawa 72.[19] She then won the next event, the Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament.[20] On June 6, 2021, she won the 2021 U.S. Women's Open in a playoff against Nasa Hataoka, her first major title, becoming the first Filipino to win the tournament.[21] Saso, at age 19 years, 11 months, 17 days, matched Inbee Park (2008 U.S. Women's Open champion) as the youngest golfer to win the tournament.[22][23]

Starting with the 2022 LPGA Tour, Saso would be representing Japan following her decision to keep her Japanese citizenship as per Japanese law on dual nationality.[24]

Citizenship

Saso held both Japanese and Filipino citizenship but was obliged to renounce one of her two citizenships by the time she turns 22 years old in 2023 as per Japanese nationality law. In November 2021, Saso announced her intention to keep her Japanese citizenship.[25][26] She had completed the process by January 2022.[27]

Saso has represented the Philippines in international golf competitions until 2021 but started officially competing for Japan in 2022.[24][28][29] Saso, however, feels connection to both her Filipino and Japanese heritage.[29][30]

Amateur wins

  • 2014 Sabah International Junior Masters, Visayas Regional Amateur and ALM Tournament
  • 2015 Kartini Cup
  • 2016 Philippine Junior Amateur, Philippine Junior Amateur Match Play, World Junior Girls Championship
  • 2017 Philippine Amateur Open Championship, Philippine Junior Amateur, Philippine Amateur Open Match Play Championship
  • 2018 Philippine Ladies Open, Victorian Junior Masters, Thunderbird International Junior, Asian Games (women's individual)
  • 2019 Philippine Ladies Open, Girl's Junior PGA Championship

Source:[3]

Professional wins (3)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
Major championships (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 6 Jun 2021 U.S. Women's Open 69-67-71-73=280 −4 Playoff Japan Nasa Hataoka 1,000,000

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2021 U.S. Women's Open Japan Nasa Hataoka Tied two-hole aggregate playoff
Won with birdie on third playoff hole:
Hataoka: 4-4=8 (E), 4, Saso: 4-4=8 (E), 3

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 16 Aug 2020 NEC Karuizawa 72 Golf Tournament 65-72-63=200 −16 4 strokes Japan Saiki Fujita
Japan Maiko Wakabayashi
2 30 Aug 2020 Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament 67-69-68-71=275 −13 2 strokes Japan Sakura Koiwai

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2021 U.S. Women's Open 1 shot deficit −4 (69-67-71-73=280) Playoff1 Japan Nasa Hataoka

1 Defeated Hataoka in a two-hole aggregate playoff, followed by a sudden-death playoff: Saso (4-4-3=11) and Hataoka (4-4-4=12 )

Results timeline

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron Championship T50 T17 CUT T30
U.S. Women's Open CUT T13 1 CUT T20
Women's PGA Championship T21 T30 2
Evian Championship NT CUT T3
Women's British Open T39 CUT CUT
  Win
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Chevron Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 3
U.S. Women's Open 1 0 0 1 1 3 5 3
Women's PGA Championship 0 1 0 1 1 2 3 3
The Evian Championship 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 1
Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
Totals 1 1 1 3 3 7 17 11
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2020 U.S. Open – 2022 Chevron)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made*		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
(US$)		 Money
list rank		 Scoring
average		 Scoring
rank
2019 1 0 0 0 0 0 CUT n/a n/a 74.00 n/a
2020 3 2 0 0 0 0 T13 n/a n/a 72.40 n/a
2021 10 10 1 0 0 4 1 1,517,876 6 69.36 4
2022 26 19 0 1 1 4 2 773,294 36 70.73 34
2023 22 17 0 1 2 8 2 1,822,486 9 70.29 14
Totals^ 58 (2021) 46 (2021) 1 2 3 16 1 4,113,656 107

^ Official as of 2023 season[31][32][33]
^Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year Ranking Source
2016 838 [34]
2017 533 [35]
2018 545 [36]
2019 282 [37]
2020 45 [38]
2021 8 [39]
2022 32 [40]
2023 27 [41]

Team appearances

Amateur

Source:[3]

Professional

Awards

References

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External links

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