The decision of Yuka Saso to become a Japanese citizen at the age of 22 will have an impact on the country’s representation and participation in the Olympic Games, but not in other international tournaments.
National Golf Association of the Philippines secretary general Bones Floro said this on the weekly program “Power and Play” in the aftermath of Saso surprising the local golfing community and her Filipino fans when she announced that she will go for Japanese citizenship when she turns 22 on June 20, 2023.
Floro hopes there will be other young golfers, who will someday step up and follow in the footsteps of Saso.
“The impact is solely in the Olympics. Yuka is a professional. And as you know, the events that we participate (with amateurs) are in the Asian Games and in the Southeast Asian Games,” said Floro.
Most of the country’s amateur golfers join the Asian Games and the SEA Games and Floro is confident that there will be other golfers, who will emerge to be world-class golf achievers that can be called upon in two years’ time.
“What’s important for us is that Yuka is a golfing hero. So we have a younger generation to look after,” added Floro.
The pool of athletes in golf is still full of talent and they can count on the likes of other golfing pros like Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina in the Olympic Games.
Saso’s bid to embrace Japanese citizenship was influenced by Japanese law, which encourages dual citizens of Japanese descent to choose their nationality at the age of 22 years old.
Saso is currently seeing action in the 2021 JLPGA TOTO Japan Classic, which is in its fourth round at the Seta Golf Course North Course in Shiga, Sunday afternoon.
