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History! Yuka Saso of the Philippines crowned US Women’s Open golf champion

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Rory Carroll, Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/06/07/yuka.jpg"/><figcaption>Yuka Saso of the Philippines hoists the US Women&#x27;s Open trophy after winning in a sudden death playoff following the final round at The Olympic Club. <em>Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>SAN FRANCISCO - (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) Yuka Saso bounced back from two early double bogeys and bested Japan&#x27;s Nasa Hataoka in the third hole of a sudden death playoff to win the 76th U.S. Women&#x27;s Open golf championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on Sunday.</p><p>The 19-year-old Saso became the first Filipino player to win a golf major and announced herself as a new force in the game with her first major title.</p><p>Saso pumped her first and smiled after nailing a 10-foot birdie putt for the win after overcoming the early adversity on a picture-perfect day at the Lake Course.</p><p>&quot;I was actually upset,&quot; she said about the two double bogeys in her first three holes, which seemed to doom her chances.</p><p>&quot;My caddie talked to me and said there are still many holes to go and to keep doing what I&#x27;ve been doing the past few days,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;And to trust the process.&quot;</p><p>All week Saso enjoyed the vocal support of fans from nearby Daly City, which is home to a large Filipino population.</p><p>Saso, who earlier in the tournament revealed she tried to emulate four-time men&#x27;s major champion Rory McIlroy&#x27;s swing, received encouragement from the Northern Irishman on social media on Sunday, which she said gave her a boost.</p><p>&quot;Rory said, &#x27;Get that trophy,&#x27; and I did. So thank you, Rory,&quot; she said with a laugh.</p><p>At 19 years, 11 months and 17 days, Saso matched South Korea&#x27;s Park Inbee to the day as the youngest champion at the women&#x27;s game&#x27;s oldest major.</p><p>Saso had to survive a late charge by Hataoka, who was seeking to become the latest Japanese major winner after Hideki Matsuyama triumphed at the Masters earlier this year.</p><p>After starting the day six strokes off the lead, Hataoka stormed from behind with three birdies on her last six holes but could only manage pars on the three playoff holes and could only watch on as Saso sank the winning shot.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/06/21/us-womens-open-golf-yuka-saso-round-3">Round 3: Yuka loses lead, but still in hunt</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/05/21/yuka-saso-takes-solo-lead-2021-us-womens-open">Round 2: Saso secures solo lead</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/04/21/us-womens-open-golf-yuka-saso-round-1">Round 1: Strong start by Yuka</a></li></ul><p>HEARTBREAK FOR THOMPSON</p><p>The playoff came after American Lexi Thompson, who led by four strokes at the turn, suffered a heartbreaking collapse on the back nine.</p><p>Thompson, 26, had her elusive second major title in sight but lost her accuracy off the tee on the back nine and missed crucial putts on 17 as well as one on 18 that would have seen her into the playoff.</p><p>The popular American, who was playing in her 15th U.S. Women&#x27;s Open, could only manage a disappointing four-over 75 on Sunday.</p><p>Thompson, who on Saturday said she had been working on taking a more positive mindset to the game, said it was hard to smile but added that it was &quot;an amazing week.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I played not so well today with a few of the bogeys coming in on the back nine, but the fans were unbelievable, hearing the chants, it gives me a reason to play,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ll take today and I&#x27;ll learn from it.&quot;</p><p>The 76th edition of the U.S. Women&#x27;s Open marked the first time that it has been played at the hilly and challenging Olympic Club, the oceanside course that has hosted five men&#x27;s U.S. Opens.</p><p>Next year&#x27;s tournament will be played at Pine Needles Golf Club in North Carolina before it returns to California at Pebble Beach in 2023. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1700936" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/07/21/watch-yuka-saso-with-the-winning-shot-for-the-us-womens-open-title">WATCH: Yuka Saso with the winning shot for the US Women&#x27;s Open title</a></li></ul><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yuka wins it!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/M6Ufu8LeGJ">pic.twitter.com/M6Ufu8LeGJ</a></p>— TJ Manotoc (@tjmanotoc) <a href="https://twitter.com/tjmanotoc/status/1401686958607245315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">19-YEAR-OLD MAJOR CHAMPION!<br/><br/>Yuka Saso ties Inbee Park as the youngest <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWomensOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USWomensOpen</a> champion in history. <a href="https://t.co/Ay1dzEH3S5">pic.twitter.com/Ay1dzEH3S5</a></p>— U.S. Women&#x27;s Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) <a href="https://twitter.com/uswomensopen/status/1401683666833592320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div><strong>(Reuters reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris, Himani Sarkar and Richard Pullin)</strong></div>

<p>(UPDATED) All week Saso enjoyed the vocal support of fans from nearby Daly City, which is home to a large Filipino population.</p>

(UPDATED) All week Saso enjoyed the vocal support of fans from nearby Daly City, which is home to a large Filipino population.

History! Yuka Saso of the Philippines crowned US Women’s Open golf champion

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History! Yuka Saso of the Philippines crowned US Women’s Open golf champion

Rory Carroll,

Reuters

Published Jun 07, 2021 07:45 AM PHT

|

Updated Jun 07, 2021 09:05 AM PHT

Read More:

Yuka Saso

2021 US Women’s Open golf

Saso wins US Women's Open title

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