Saso improves to joint 2nd

MANILA, Philippines — Closing out a round seemed to trouble Yuka Saso no end as she holed out with another bogey that stained an otherwise blistering frontside windup halfway through the Japan LPGA Championship at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama yesterday.

Korean Hee Kyung Bae took charge with a 67 coming off back-to-back missed cut stints at Nitori Ladies and Golf5 Ladies tilts, her 136 total shoving her to the top, two strokes ahead of Saso, who shot a 70, and four others as erstwhile joint leaders Min-Young Lee and Serena Aoki floundered in tough conditions marred by light rain in morning play.

Ayako Kimura actually grabbed the lead at 9-under overall with a birdie on No. 12 but the veteran campaigner, who tied for 40th here last year and missed the cut twice in the first five events of this year’s pandemic-shortened JLPGA season, bogeyed three of the next four and blew a four-foot birdie bid on the 18th.

She ended up with a 71 in a late finish under overcast skies and fell to joint second at 138 with Saso, Rieru Shibusawa (66), Sayaka Takahashi (68) and Yuna Nishimura (68) while 2015 champion Teresa Lu matched par 72 for a 139 in a tie with Hikari Tanabe (70), Momo Yoshikawa (68), Saki Nagamine (70) and last week’s Golf5 Ladies winner Sakura Koiwai (71).

Bae, who hit just two fairways but still shot a 69 in the first round, rebounded with a superb long game and gunned down three birdies in the last five holes in a backside start. She then closed out with two more birdies in the last four holes at the front to wrest control in the Y200 million serving as the region’s premier circuit’s first major championship.

But a host of others are just two or three strokes behind while a number of fancied bets and lesser lights also stayed within striking distance, ensuring a wild third round chase today for a shot at the crown and the top Y36 million purse on Sunday.

They include Player of the Year derby frontrunner and scoring average leader Saso, who bucked a late start Thursday with a 68 that could’ve been a stroke better if not for a bogey on the par-5 18th.

Despite a switch in tee-time, the ICTSI-backed Saso found the backside of the links layout with unreceptive greens and tough pin placements not to her liking, mixing one birdie with a bogey, again on the 18th, to slip a number of rungs lower from joint fifth.

But after three straight pars at the front in drizzle, she came through with a three-birdie binge from No. 4 that not only matched her first round feat (Nos. 6-8) but also stirred up loose talks for a fiery finish for the power-hitting two-time Philippine Ladies Open titlist.

She, however, missed the par-4 ninth green and watched helplessly as her eight-foot par putt veered to the left of the hole for a 70.

Lee. Meanwhile, struggled in afternoon play and limped with a 74 to tumble to a share of 12th at 140, while Aoki, who produced a bogey-less 66 Thursday, fumbled with four bogeys in a birdie-less 76. She fell to joint 23rd at 142.

Three of pre-tournament favorites, meanwhile, failed went separate ways as Momoko Ueda, sixth placer in the recent British Women’s Open, settled for a second 71 to join Aoki’s group in weekend play while two-time champion and 16-time JLPGA winner Ai Suzuki fumbled with a 75 for a 147 and missed the cut by one.

Worse was Earth Mondahmin Cup titlist and Saso flightmate Ayaka Watanabe, who also hobbled with a 75 for a 148.