Hot finish propels Saso to Top 20; Ardina gains
MANILA, Philippines — Yuka Saso stayed on course for career and personal redemption, firing her best round in three days — a four-under 68 — to surge from joint 33rd to a share of 18th after three rounds of the Lotte Championship at the Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).
Although she slipped from seven to nine strokes behind Thai ace 2 Jeeno Thitikul, Saso’s third straight under-par round — following a 69 and 70 — provided another encouraging sign that the Filipino-Japanese ace may finally be rediscovering the form that carried her to her second US Women’s Open crown in June 2024.
Saso has gone winless since that triumph and endured a difficult 2025 campaign, missing the cut in 13 of 20 tournaments. Her best finish was a tie for 17th at the LPGA Thailand.
Her struggles have continued this season, with 11 missed cuts, although she managed a strong tie for 12th at the AIG Women’s Open before missing the cut in her next three starts.
But there have been signs of a turnaround.
Saso tied for 34th at last week’s NW Arkansas Championship, where she produced three under-par rounds, capped by a 67 in the final round. She has carried that momentum into Hawaii, putting together three consecutive rounds under par and saving her best for last on Saturday.
She closed with three straight birdies for a sizzling 32 on the back nine, turning a mediocre round into a 68 that moved her within two strokes of the players tied for ninth.
The ICTSI-backed Saso will now look to ride that blistering finish into the final round and post her first Top 10 finish in a long while.
Thitikul, however, has built a formidable cushion of her own.
The world No. 2 broke away from a relatively quiet front nine with a scorching finish, making five birdies on the back nine, including a three-birdie binge beginning at No. 10, before closing with back-to-back birdies.
She carded a 67 to seize control at 17-under 199, three strokes clear of Korea’s Ina Yoon and Germany’s Polly Mack, who stood at 202 after rounds of 69 and 70, respectively.
Yoon, backed by Solaire, recovered from a setback on No. 2 with four birdies, including two over her final four holes, for a 69. Mack overcame a late wet bogey with a birdie on the last to salvage a 70.
Sweden’s Maja Stark and Carolina Melgrati of Italy were tied for fourth at 203 after 67 and 70, respectively, while the rest of the field trailed by too wide a margin to pose an immediate threat, leaving Thitikul with a handful of challengers in Sunday’s final round of the $3-million championship.
On the Epson Tour, Dottie Ardina also mounted a late charge, shooting a three-under 68 to improve to joint 28th with a 211 after three rounds of the Epson Tour Championship at the Indian Wells Golf Resort’s Players Course in California on Saturday.
Ardina, whose campaign is also supported by the world's leading port operator, remained eight strokes behind Thailand’s Cholcheva Wongras, who slowed with a 71 but retained the lead at 13-under 203.
Wongras held a one-stroke advantage over Haylee Harford Sanchez and Mirabel Ting, who matched 204s after rounds of 67 and 70, respectively.
Four players — Catherine Park and Elina Sinz, who both shot 67, and Katherine Muzi and Amari Avery, who carded identical 69s — were another stroke back at 205, setting up a seven-player battle for the title in the final round of the $300,000 season-ending championship.
Ardina got off to a strong start with three birdies on the front nine before a roller-coaster finish, mixing two birdies with two bogeys over her last seven holes to close with a 68.
Clariss Guce, meanwhile, struggled to a 76 and dropped to joint 54th at 217.
The two-time Epson Tour winner appeared headed for a promising round after birdieing the opening hole, but the momentum quickly disappeared as she gave back three strokes over the next four holes before a double bogey on the par-3 ninth.
She bogeyed the 10th and settled for pars the rest of the way, turning in a 39-37 card.
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