But golf is golf, and nothing is guaranteed. Thompson stumbled coming home, making three bogeys and a double to post a back-nine 41 and add to her list of major heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Saso hung tough, posting a two-over 73 that was good enough to get into a playoff with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka at four-under 280 total. Then after making pars on the first two playoff holes, Saso rolled in an eight-footer for birdie on the third to walk away the surprise champion.

Surprise at least to golf fans outside the Philippines.

“There’s always that one player who stands out, and the rest will follow. That’s what she’s doing,” said LPGA Tour pro player Bianca Pagdanganan, a fellow Filipino. “We’ve had a couple players before [on the LPGA Tour], we had Dorothy Delasin, we got Jennifer Rosales. It’s been awhile. Yuka is a very young player. I think it was definitely, it means a lot especially with how old she is. It’s very, very special and she’s definitely someone to look up to.”

In case you’re just watching Saso for the first time this week, here are nine things you need to know about the new U.S. Women’s Open champion.

1: She’s the first major champion from the Philippines

It was 8 a.m. local time on Monday in the Philippines when Saso won the playoff to claim the title, her first LPGA Tour victory. You can rightfully say that Saso raised a new dawn for the game of golf in her home country. “I’m just thankful that there’s so many people in the Philippines cheering for me,” Saso said. “I don’t know how to thank them. They gave me so much energy. I want to say thank you to everyone.”

Interestingly, too, San Francisco has one of the largest Filipina populations of any city in the U.S., with Saso attracting an impressive following during her week at Olympic Club.

Pagdanganan wasn’t in the field at Olympic Club but is playing in next week’s LPGA stop in San Francisco and arrived at Olympic Club on Sunday to watch Saso starting on the fifth hole.

“I think it’s not only good for her, but I think it’s good for the Philippines,” Pagdanganan said. “She put us on the radar. What she did was absolutely a great thing, not only for golf but for our country.”

• • •

2: She tied Inbee Park for the youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner (yes, actually tied)

Fate is a strange thing. Saso turned 19 years, 11 months and 17 days old on Sunday. That is the exact same age that Park broke through and won the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club.

Yuka Saso reacts after being doused with water following her win of the 76th U.S. Women’s Open. Ezra Shaw

• • •

3: She’s the first player to be eligible for full LPGA Tour membership under the newly created “Popov Rule”

Prior to this year, winning a major gave the champion a five-year exemption on the LPGA Tour … provided the winner already was an LPGA member. If she isn’t, as was the case with Sophia Popov when she won the AIG Women’s Open last August, that exemption shrank to only two years. It was a rule that didn’t seem all that fair to some, and came into play again when A Lim Kim won the U.S. Women’s Open last December as a non-member. During the off-season, the LPGA reviewed the rule and changed it to allow members or non-members alike to get the full five years.

Interestingly, Saso was initially non-committal about whether she’d play full time on the LPGA Tour. “I’m going to talk to my dad, my family about it, and we are going to decide after,” Saso said in the immediate aftermath of the playoff win.

Hannah Green, who’s known Saso since their amateur days six or seven years ago, wants her friend to join the LPGA. “She’s fit for major championships,” Green said. “This is probably the toughest golf course we’re ever going to play. Obviously, it’s huge for her confidence. I hope she joins the tour.”

Shortly thereafter, Saso deliberated with her family, as she accepted membership just after 6 P.M. Sunday.

• • •

4: She is just the second Filipino to win an LPGA Tour event

The first was Jennifer Rosales, who won the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in 2004 and then the SBS Open at Turtle Bay in 2005.

MORE: Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at Olympic Club

• • •

5: She’s only two years removed from winning the Junior PGA Championship.

She is, after all, still a teenager.

Just two years ago I presented @SasoYuka_315 the @JuniorPGAChamp trophy! Today she lifted the @uswomensopen trophy. WOW!! Congratulations Yuka!!! pic.twitter.com/ajjlDqJtDj

— Suzy Whaley (@suzywhaley) June 7, 2021

• • •

6: She won a gold medal as an individual and as part of the Women’s Team at the 2018 Asian Games with Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go

Pagdanganan’s familiarity with Saso’s game made her know the teenager could launch a comeback after falling behind early at Olympic Club. When Pagdanganan found Saso on Sunday, Saso mouthed “Oh my god!” to Pagdananan, gave her a fist bump, and said hi. Saso’s teammate had complete confidence in her to make a move Sunday.

“That’s just who Yuka is,” Pagdanganan said. “Yuka is very resilient. I knew she was going to make a late charge, that’s just who she is as a player. She’s very, very talented. I didn’t expect anything less from her.”

• • •

7: This was only Saso’s seventh start on the LPGA Tour

Of Saso’s seven, three have come in the U.S. Women’s Open. She missed the cut in 2019 and finished T-13 in 2020.

• • •

8: This is Saso’s third professional win anywhere

Saso won twice in back-to-back events on the Japan LPGA Tour in 2020, winning the NEC Karuizawa 72 Golf Tournament and Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament in August last year.

• • •

9: She modelled her swing after Rory McIlroy

During Friday’s broadcast on the Golf Channel, they showed a side-by-side comparison of McIlroy and Saso’s swing, the two looking frighteningly similar. That’s because Saso has spent hours watching McIlroy’s swing on YouTube and mirror her’s after his.

??? pic.twitter.com/P7yWiR3URQ

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) June 5, 2021

After this revelation made it on air, a flattered McIlroy responded that he hoped Saso would play well and win the championship. Saso acknowledges her idol during her post-victory speech.

RELATED: Yuka Saso hat-tipping Rory McIlroy in her post-victory interview is extremely wholesome content

The post Who is Yuka Saso? 9 things you need to know about the new U.S. Women’s Open champion appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Then, in the privacy of the scoring tent, reality arrived. The talented American had just squandered a five-shot lead in the final round by shooting a numbing 41 on the back nine, and with a bogey at 17 followed by another on the devious little monster that is the Lake Course’s 18th hole, Thompson capped a four-over-par 75 that left her one shot out of a playoff won in three holes by Yuka Saso over Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.

Saso’s first major triumph is an enormous achievement, with the 19-year-old of Filipino and Japanese heritage tying Inbee Park to the day as the youngest winner in the U.S. Women’s Open history. Saso, who has two wins on the LPGA of Japan and immediately accepted membership to the LPGA Tour after Sunday’s triumph, was gritty in fighting back from back-to-back double bogeys on the second and third holes. She steadied herself and made birdies on the back nine’s two par 5s, 16 and 17, to shoot 71 and tie Hataoka (68) at four-under 280 overall.

Only three years ago, Saso played in the ANA Inspiration junior tournament and waited in line to get Thompson’s autograph. Now, she’s part of yet another crushing setback for the 26-year-old whose only major win in 52 tries came seven years ago.

RELATED: Who is Yuka Saso? 9 things you need to know about the new U.S. Women’s Open champion

As the playoff started, Thompson signed her scorecard and tried to gather herself. She emerged once, thinking she was ready to speak, but went back inside again. She skipped talking to the USGA’s broadcast partner, NBC, and instead went straight to the interview area. There, her eyes red and glassy, an impressively composed Thompson answered one question from a USGA media official and two others from reporters. Then, at the behest of her agent, she was whisked away.

Last seen, Thompson was being taken to a destination unknown, the cart driven by USGA player liaison Jason Gore.

“Yeah, of course it’s hard to smile, but, I mean, it was an amazing week,” Thompson said. “Yeah, I played not so good today with a few of the bogeys coming in on the back nine, but the fans were unbelievable, hearing the chants and just gives me a reason to play.”

This was to be a huge moment for Thompson—and for American golf. She has long been one of the domestic game’s most recognizable and popular stars, and her 11 LPGA Tour wins made her worthy of admiration. For Thompson to capture the U.S. Women’s Open, on a layout deeply wound in the USGA’s DNA, and to overcome her own travails, well, it could have been one of those U.S. sporting stories that are remembered for lifetimes.

But the majors have been Thompson’s nearly impenetrable castle. She now has eight top-three finishes, and it will be debated which is more painful—the 2017 loss in the ANA Inspiration when she was defeated in a playoff after being smacked with a four-stroke penalty for marking her ball incorrectly, or this collapse at Olympic Club with seemingly one hand on the trophy.

Lexi Thompson walks off the 18th hole with her caddie following the final round of the 76th U.S. Women’s Open. Ezra Shaw

Certainly, this was a more visceral undoing. Thompson looked sharp and composed in shooting one under on the front nine to forge a five-shot lead when everyone else seemed to be folding around her. As it happened, the birdie she made at the par-4 fifth would be her last.

The trouble started on the par-4 11th, when Thompson missed the fairway and slashed out to well short of the green with her second shot. There, maybe the nerves began to show, when she chunked her wedge and didn’t make the green. She came up well short of the hole with her fourth shot and missed the five-foot putt for bogey, settling instead for a double. Still, she had a three-shot lead.

But Thompson appeared to lose almost all feel from there. She missed all but two of the remaining fairways on the back nine, left her tee shot on the par-3 15th at least a club short, and at 17 and 18, with makeable putts to save par, Thompson’s weak rolls couldn’t get to the hole.

The effort at 18 came after Thompson striped an iron off the tee into the middle of the fairway. But her approach to the front pin came up short in the front bunker so deep only the top of her head could be seen from the back of the green.

Reporters didn’t get to ask Thompson about the 18th hole, but she said, “Just got the wind wrong on a few shots coming in.

“Overall,” she said, “I’d be the first one to tell you that I hit some bad golf shots and I deserved it, but it’s golf.”

As Thompson was faltering, Saso and Hataoka were charging. Saso only made three birdies in the round, but two came critically at 16 and 17. She had begun the round horribly, pitching out sideways after a wayward drive at No. 2 in making a double bogey, followed by a three-putt double at the par-3 third after her tee shot found the left bunker.

Hataoka, 22, who was trying to win her first major and continue an impressive run of play for Japanese golfers after Tsubasa Kajitani’s win at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters victory, recorded five birdies, including those on a par-3 (No. 13), par-4 (14) and par-5 (16).

Sean M. Haffey

The USGA has a two-hole playoff system, and after the players traded pars while playing the ninth and 18th holes, Saso seized the win by making an eight-foot birdie in the return to No. 9.

Lost somewhat in the American disappointment for Thompson were the cheers from Filipinos, who waved flags for Saso throughout the round. It’s the first victory by a Filipino, male or female, in any golf major.

“I don’t know what’s happening in the Philippines right now, but I’m just thankful that there’s so many people in the Philippines cheering for me,” Saso said. “I don’t know how to thank them. They gave me so much energy. I want to say thank you to everyone.”

With her tumble at Olympic Club, Thompson put herself into the company of one of the gods of the game. In 1966 on the Lake Course, Arnold Palmer squandered a seven-shot lead on the back nine, and Billy Casper made three birdies late to catch him and steal one.

Palmer was devasted, to be sure, but the wounds were salved by the seven majors he’d already won. Thompson figures to have at least a decade more of trying, but with each passing tough loss, it’s hard to keep smiling.

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By Christopher Powers
Yuka Saso and Rory McIlroy were playing golf on opposite sides of the country on Sunday. But thanks to the power of social media, these two are now intertwined forever.

On Friday night, while Saso was shooting a four-under 67 to grab the solo 36-hole lead at the U.S. Women’s Open, the broadcast played a side-by-side video of the 19-year-old’s swing and the swing of McIlroy. The moves were eerily similar, which made sense given Saso modelled her swing after the four-time major champion’s:

??? pic.twitter.com/P7yWiR3URQ

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) June 5, 2021

“Everything, I like everything about it,” said Saso of Rory’s swing, which she has studied on YouTube. Considering his career record, there are definitely worse swings to model yours after.

The results are in—it’s working. Saso won the Women’s Open on Sunday at Olympic Club, defeating Nasa Hataoka on the third playoff hole, the first of sudden death.

McIlroy, who tied for 18th at the Memorial, caught wind of the side-by-side video on Saturday night and posted this to his Instagram story:

Pretty cool stuff for Saso, who was even watching McIlroy’s swing on Thursday night after opening with a two-under 69. “The last time I watched it was the Masters,” she said. “I was just watching his golf and swing for like one hour, maybe more.” McIlroy, never afraid to poke fun at himself, said he was “hardly [at the Masters] for an hour” when he was told of Saso’s routine on Saturday at Muirfield Village.

In her post-victory interview, Saso made sure to give McIlroy a nice hat tip, which will warm your heart:

"Rory mentioned me on Instagram and said, 'Get that trophy.'

And I did!

So thank you, Rory." pic.twitter.com/G3pqLCSxle

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 6, 2021

McIlroy quickly responded on Twitter, saying “Everyone is going to be watching Yuka Saso swing videos on YouTube now. Congratulations!” Amen to that. Good, wholesome content right here, folks. Want it, need more of it.

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By Kent Paisley
SAN FRANCISCO—The last time Michelle Wie West teed it up at a major championship was the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and it looked it might be the end of her career. In pain because of a surgically repaired right wrist, she missed the cut at 22 over par.

“It was just a shame, that whole week was clouded,” Wie West said on Tuesday at the Olympic Club, where the U.S. Women’s Open begins on Thursday. “I wasn’t even thinking straight. I just couldn’t even see straight at that point.”

Now, with baby Makenna in tow and a new last name after marrying NBA executive Jonnie West, Wie West tees it up in her backyard. The 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion returns after a five-week break following a missed cut in the Hugel-Premia LA Open at the end of April, where she missed her third cut in as many appearances this season.

The five-time LPGA winner has played Olympic Club multiple times, including a round with Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Wie West benefits from sleeping in her own bed ahead of the next two LPGA events—this week and the LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Country Club.

To prepare for the challenge of the Olympic greens, she focused on her putting. Wie West flew to Phoenix to see Stan Utley, a former PGA Tour player who has become a putting guru.

“I had a lesson with him a couple years ago, which I always think about, so it was really nice to kind of refresh the things that I was doing,” Wie West said. “It’s just the really small things. I just forgot what drills to do. Like what have I been doing? How am I holding the club? How am I even doing anything?”

She has to do more than just the tiny golf things in her return to the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time since 2018. Her duties as a Solheim Cup assistant captain beckon as well. Captain Pat Hurst emphasized the importance of performing well at the remaining four majors on the calendar to make the team, and Wie West is collecting valuable data with her time at Olympic.

“Obviously, it’s a lot easier to do [observe potential Solheim Cup players] when I’m on site, so I’m really taking advantage of this week,” Wie West said. “Hopefully get paired with some people and really get to see their games and have a whole round to chat with them.”

Playing in a major for the first time in nearly two years is challenging enough with the extra responsibilities on the 31-year-old’s shoulders. The years of mounting injuries add to the challenge, with the juicy Olympic rough eating golf balls and placing additional pressure on Wie West’s arthritic wrists. Her off-course focus is on recovering, using machines at home, and sticking to her physical therapy routine. The effort required to continue playing after believing her she hit her last shot on the LPGA at Hazeltine National Golf Club keeps everything in perspective.

“I’m playing definitely on borrowed time,” she said. “and I’m grateful for every second of it.”

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By Tod Leonard
The U.S. Women’s Open doesn’t face the drastic changes it did in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be moved from June to December, while players bundled up in frigid temperatures and competed on two courses instead of one. But the coronavirus is still stirring up problems.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday that there will be no fans in attendance at the U.S. Women’s Open scheduled for June 3-6 at San Francisco’s Olympic Club. Citing sources, the Chronicle said state and local public health officials, along with representatives of the LPGA Tour and USGA, decided that it would not be possible to enforce social distancing with the golf crowd. Only a limited number of Olympic members will be allowed on the grounds, the Chronicle reported.

When asked about the situation regarding spectators, Matt Sawicki, USGA senior director of championships, told the Chronicle that a final decision has not been made.

“It is important to have fans attend the U.S. Women’s Open, but health and safety protocols for all attendees remains our first priority,” Sawicki said in a statement to the Chronicle. “We are working closely with the city and county of San Francisco, as well as the state of California, to create the best environment possible.”

Only two weeks after the Women’s Open, the U.S. Open is also scheduled for California, at Torrey Pines in San Diego. State, county and USGA officials have made no announcements regarding fans at the men’s event.

There were no fans at any of the three men’s majors in 2020, all of which had their dates moved because of the pandemic. The Open Championship in England was cancelled.

This year, all four majors are scheduled for their usual calendar slots. The Masters in April has said it will allow fewer spectators than normal without citing a figure, while the PGA Championship in May will allow 10,000 fans per day at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. The R&A has said it would like to stage a “full-scale” Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, but also has contingencies for fewer fans or none at all.

On the PGA Tour, fans in the thousands have been attending recent events, though there were no fans allowed during the West Coast Swing in La Quinta, San Diego, Los Angeles and Pebble Beach.

California has continued to adhere to stricter COVID-19 protocols than many states, though most of the counties have advanced out of the most restrictive tier. In terms of fans attending professional sporting events, San Francisco is in the orange tier, and baseball’s Giants will be allowed 33 percent capacity in their stadium. San Diego currently is in the red tier, and the Padres are limited to 20 percent capacity or about 8,000 to 10,000 people.

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