Saso grabs spotlight from pros with 67 for two-stroke lead

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Decorated Amateur Yuka Saso birdied four of her last six holes on Wednesday, shooting a four-under-par 67 to wrest a two-stroke lead over Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching-Ling and Chen Hsuan after the first round of the $100,000 ICTSI Manila Golf Ladies Classic inside posh Forbes Park.

The 17-year-old Saso shook off a bogey on the third hole with a birdie on the next then broke a run of pars with a sizzling windup that shoved the reigning Asian Games gold medalist to the top of the heap of the 54-hole Ladies Philippine Golf Tour event the well-manicured Manila Golf Club is hosting for the first time.

Back-to-back birdies from No. 13 sparked the fiery finish with the Fil-Japanese, coming off a third place finish in the Augusta Women’s Amateur in Georgia over the weekend, also picking up shots at the water-laced par-3 16th and the closing par-5 18th to break off a tight bunch.

“It was fantastic, everything was in place, although it was pretty hot and the wind blew late in the round,” said Saso, who actually reigned at Manila Golf in February where she dominated the ranks to retain her Philippine Ladies Amateur Open with a six-under total.

Pauline del Rosario, the 2017 Order of Merit winner, kept a two-under card with two holes left but dropped two strokes on the bunker-laden 17th for a 70, tied with Taiwanese Hsin Lee, Japanese Mina Nakayama and Thai Goonlacha Paiboonpong, who turned in identical 37-34 cards.

Reigning OOM champion Princess Superal, the third of the country’s bright hopes, struggled to a 74 to be seven behind.

Chang and Chen appeared headed to sharing the day’s spotlight with Saso after churning out a pair of 69s with Chang blowing a three-under card with a bogey on the 17th and Chen rallying with two birdies in the last four to put herself in early contention.

“My irons are relatively good but I struggled with my putting, missing two birdie chances inside 10 feet,” said Chen, 20.

Singapore’s Sock Hwee Koh fought back from an early pair of bogeys at the back with a three-birdie string from No. 13 to shoot a  70, tied with Thais Chommapat Pongthanarak (34-36), Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro (32-38) and Arpichaya Yubol (36-34).

Thai Chonlada Chayanun also blew a two-under card with a bogey on the 16th and a double bogey on the next, ending up with a 72 in the company of compatriots Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Khamborn Chakansim and Mookharin Ladgratok, Malaysian Genevieve Ling, and Taiwanese amateur Chang Tzu-Yi.