Filipino-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso birdied the last three holes and almost bagged her third championship.
Saso finished with a 9-under 63 in the final round of the LPGA Tour of Japan’s 2020 Toto Japan Classic to finish in second, Sunday at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Ibaragi.
South Korean Jiyai Shin came up with a strong finish, hitting an eagle in the 17th hole and a birdie in the final, to duplicate her opening-round score of 6-under 66, and walk home with the crown.
This allowed Saso to move back into the lead in the Mercedes Rankings with 928.85 points. Saso is now ahead by 37.39 points of Japanese Sakura Koiwai.
The 19-year-old Saso hiked her winnings to a total of Y82,753,170 or P53,208,599.49.
Saso, who is a two-time tour champion, submitted a 2-under 70 in the opening round.
She improved with a 5-under 67 in the second, to tie for 12th place going into the day’s final go-around.
Saso slowly crept up into the leaderboard from there. She wound up with four birdies in the front nine, with back-to-back birdies coming on the sixth and seventh holes.
Two more birdies in the 11th and 12th holes gave the Filipino-Japanese opportunities to win.
