The Philippines’ remaining bet at the 75th US Women’s Open, Yuka Saso, slid out of the Top 10 and dropped to shared 25th place with seven others after the intense round three of the said major tournament.
Mathematically speaking, Saso can still win the tournament with one more day left in the major, but the chance is minuscule as the current leader, Japanese Hinako “Smiling Cinderella” Shibuno, is playing outstanding golf.
The best that Saso can do is to finish strong on the culminating day of the competition and put herself in the Top 10 of the leaderboard to bag the minimum $132,245-prize money and a chance to climb up the world rankings.
Round three is the Filipina Japanese’s poorest showing in the entire tournament as she made five bogeys, one double bogey, and a single birdie for the score of 77 or six-over-par at the Cypress Creek Golf Course.
Just a day ago, Saso’s compatriot Bianca Pagdanganan missed the cut despite the three-birdie start in the first half of the match and finished the second round with a score of 75 or five-over-par.
Aside from Pagdanganan, other notable Ladies Professional Golf Association players who suffered the same fate were Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, Morgan Pressel, and former world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park — all failed to advance to the penultimate round.
It is not only Saso, who currently sits in the middle of the leaderboard that struggles in the competition, but old-timers, including world top-ranked Brooke Henderson, Danielle Kang, and Minjee Lee who are at the upper-bottom of the standings.
With a +4 total score after three rounds, Saso will try to bounce back on the final day of the US major as she tees off at 8:56 a.m. Eastern Standard Time together with American Stacy Lewis and Japanese Eri Okayama.