Saso bounces back with 70 on late birdies

MANILA, Philippines – Yuka Saso recovered from a scrambling start and a long par-game with birdies on the last two holes as she carded a 70 but dropped five strokes off a hot-starting troika of Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Jenny Shin of Korea and American Allison Lee after 18 holes of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Gold Canyon, Arizona Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

Coming off a long break following a sixth-place effort in the Women’s World Championship in Singapore three weeks ago, Saso scrambled with a two-birdie, two-bogey game in the first six holes at the Superstition Mountain course then flubbed a number of birdie chances in the next 10 holes before picking up strokes on Nos. 17 and 18.

With majority of the elite field posting low rounds in near-ideal conditions, Saso found herself down at tied 48th with 28 others, including American Nelly Korda and Korean Jin Young Ko, the world’s No. 2 and 3, respectively, who slugged it out in one of the featured flights with Canadian Brooke Henderson.

The ICTSI-backed Saso missed five fairways on a 283-yard driving norm and went out of regulation five times in the afternoon group but finished with 29 putts although she struggled from the bunkers, where she went 1 of 3, leading to her bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6.

But she expects to rebound in a switch of tee-times Friday, along with Korda and Ko, who both rallied late, hitting three birdies in the last seven holes. Korda gained strokes on Nos. 13, 14 and 18 to save a pair of 35s marred by a double bogey on No. 10, while Ko, who snapped a long spell with an emotional victory in Singapore, dominated Nos. 12, 14 and 18 for a 37-33.

Henderson, a two-time Major winner, carded a 71.

Lopez, meanwhile, flourished with a solid seven-birdie binge for a 33-32 card she spiked with awesome putting and superb bunker play. She hit the traps six times but saved all of them on her way to a solid 23-putt showing.

Shin, on the other hand, banked on her long game, missing just one fairway and finishing with 26 putts for an eight-birdie, one-bogey round, while Lee sprayed the par-72 layout with nine birdies to negate a two-bogey mishap on Nos. 9 and 16.

England’s Jodi Shadoff and Taiwanese Wei Ling Hsu matched 66s while Koreans Jeongeun Lee6 and Narin An, Americans Lilia Vu and Megan Khang, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda, Thais Moriya Jutanugard and Patty Tavatanakit, Maddie Szeryk of Canada, and Peiyun Chien of Taiwan all turned in 67s to make it a crowded leaderboard in the early going of the $1.75 million championship.