
Asian Games gold medalist Yuka Saso carded a final round two-under par 70 to finish tied for 14th in the Japan Women’s Open Sunday in Miyakawa City in Fukuoka prefecture.
The Filipino-Japanese golfer, a rookie in the Japan Tour, mixed her round with birdies on 1, 3, 7 and 18 while her bogeys came on 2 and 10 for a four-day total of 286.
Local bet Erika Hara ruled the event with a four-shot victory against compatriot Sakura Koiwai after a 68 and 272 overall. The latter also had a 68 but finished with a total of 276.
This is the second straight tournament that Saso failed to make it to the Top 10.
The 19-year-old Saso, a double gold medal winner in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, failed on her comeback bid when she finished tied for 13th in the JLPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup in Okayama, Japan.
As a result, Saso fell second spot in the Player of the Year top ranking after seven tournaments as Koiwai moved to the top spot with 784 points.
Saso was up by 143 points after her victories in the NEC Karuizawa and Nitori Ladies prior to the second major tournament of the Japan PGA Tour, but dropped to second place with 739.35 points.
Hara is now at No. 3 spot 540 points followed by Earth Mondahmin Cup winner Ayaka Watanabe with 520.10 points and JLPGA Championship Minolta Cup titlist Saka Nagamine with 507.25 points.
Nevertheless, Saso maintained her No. 1 ranking spot on the purse leaders with Y65,190,250 in earnings after she pocketed Y1,226,250 in the four-day meet. She is followed by Watanabe (Y53,454,250) and Koiwai (Y52,559,000).