If you don’t recognize the name Yuka Saso, you’re not alone, but she’s turning a lot of heads in Oahu, Hawaii at the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship.
The 19-year-old from The Phillipines is a member of the Japan LPGA and has two wins on that tour and now she’s going low — very low at The Lotte after back-to-back rounds of 64. She’s the halfway leader at Kapolei Golf Club at 16-under par, two clear of Lydia Ko (67-63).
Saso is playing on a sponsor’s exemption and threw seven birdies on her scorecard over her first 10 holes Thursday. She finished with birdies on two of her final three holes to shoot eight-under for the second straight day. This is only her sixth LPGA Tour appearance and she’s handled the Hawaiian winds quite well.
“I’m trying to get used to it,” Saso said. “The wind is still strong. Like I said yesterday, I don’t really like windy conditions. I’m happy I’m able to play good even if I don’t really like it.”
Saso, the 2019 Girls Junior PGA champion, turned pro in November of that year. She’s ranked 43rd in the world and finished 13th last December at the Women’s U.S. Open.
Ko is fresh off her runner-up finish at the year’s first major — the ANA. She shot 62 the final round but still couldn’t catch eventual winner Patty Tavatanakit. Ko hasn’t won since 2018 but is now 24-under par for her last three rounds.
“Coming into this week, obviously coming off the best round in a really long time, I kind of didn’t know what to expect,” Ko said. “Obviously you feel like your game is moving in the right direction, but you don’t want to kind of slack off. Having a good round under my belt yesterday definitely helped. This is a golf course where especially when the wind is down it’s pretty gettable.”
Fourth-ranked Nelly Korda was five shots back along with So Yeon Ryu, Hyo Joo Kim and Luna Sobron Galmes, who plays primarily on the Ladies European Tour. Sobron Galmes had 10 birdies while shooting 64.
U.S. Women’s Open champion A Lim Kim was 10 under after a 64, joined by Ally Ewing and Brianna Do, who shot a career-low 66.
Amateur Rose Zhang didn’t win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur but she’s off to a good start at Kapolei with rounds of 67-68 that have her tied for 10th at nine-under par.
Canizares Early Leader At Chilly Austrian Open:
They’re all bundled up at the Austrian Open, even though temperatures are in the 40s with little wind, you’d think it’s 20 degrees outside with the looks of the outwear.
The cool air didn’t bother Alejandro Canizares of Spain as he’s seven-under par after rounds of 67-70 at the Diamond Country Club outside Vienna.
South African Justin Walters was finished 36 at five-under (71-68). Martin Kaymer, American John Catlin and Richard Mansell from England were all five-under at the turn with a chance to make a run at Canizares’ lead.
