Saso rallies to fourth-place finish

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Japanese Yuka Saso sustained her charge in the final push en route to placing fourth but Bianca Pagdanganan lost steam and fell to a final standing of 32nd in the Kroger Queen City Championship Sunday in Maineville, Ohio.

Reigning US Women’s Open queen Saso duplicated her second-round score of seven-under 65 to finish at No. 4 at 16-under 272 and earn a cool $102,909 (around P1.76 million).

Saso missed sharing third spot with Haeran Ryu (271 after a 67) by one stroke and wound up seven shots off New Zealand star Lydia Ko, who sizzled with a closing 63 for a winning 265 aggregate.

The ICTSI-backed Saso gunned down four birdies in the first six holes then eagled the par-5 No. 8 to set the tone for her blistering finish. She stumbled with a double-bogey on the ninth but bounced back with three birdies from the 11th to 15th as she sealed the Top 4 finish after missing the cut in her last three appearances.

Paris Olympics fourth-placer Pagdanganan, who was in the hunt after a 68-68-69 opener, struggled with a three-over 75 to bomb out of contention.

With two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey, Pagdanganan ended the event at 280 and netted around $12,894 (722,000) for sharing No. 32 with seven others.

Meanwhile, Ko, the gold medalist of the Paris Olympics, wiped out a two-shot deficit and won the title by five over Round 3 leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand (270 after a 70).