Yuka Saso zooms to 6th in world rankings
FIL-JAPANESE Yuka Saso’s smashing return as US Women’s Open titlist has also propelled her back into the Top 10 of the women’s golf rankings.
Ms. Saso, who scooped up her second crown in golf’s biggest event and a cool $2.4 million (around P140 million) Sunday in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, climbed to sixth with 239.85 points from a season-low 30th the previous week.
This marks Ms. Saso’s second highest career ranking after she reached No. 5 for a week in 2021. This was on the heels of her breakthrough US Women’s Open triumph — achieved under the Philippine flag then — which catapulted her into ninth position. The parbuster who will turn 23 in two weeks had been outside the Top 10 over the last two years, though, as she struggled to regain her winning form.
Prior to landing at sixth this week, Ms. Saso last occupied a spot among the 10 best lady golfers in the planet in March 2022 when she hit ninth after taking 10th place in the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Saso was the biggest climber in the latest world rankings released Monday, which saw American Nelly Korda maintaining top spot with 515.58 points despite missing the cut in Lancaster.
Bianca Pagdanganan, who didn’t play in the US Women’s Open after placing seventh in the preceding Mizuho Americas Open, slipped one place to 118th with 41.81 points. — Olmin Leyba
