Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines will each play three tournaments as part of their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics later this month at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, Japan.
Saso, the reigning US Women’s Open champion, is set to compete in her third LPGA major event at the Amundi Evian Championships in Evian-les-Bains, France set July 22 to 25.
After she won the US Women’s Open title, the 20-year-old Saso finished in the leaderboard tied for 21st to 24th in the KPMG PGA Women’s Championship at the Highland Course of the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to the tournament in France, Saso will see action in the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio set to tee off this Thursday (Friday, July 9 in Manila), as well as the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Michigan on July 14-17.
As for the 23-year-old Pagdanganan, she already competed at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout at the Old America Golf Club in The Colony in Dallas where she finished tied for 38th to 46th spots – an improvement after she missed the cut in the KPMG.
She will also compete in the Ohio and Michigan events before going to Tokyo.
Both golfers are first timers in the Olympics after Saso booked a spot as the world No. 8 player and eighth ranked in the Tokyo Olympics list released by the IGF, while Pagdanganan – No. 165 in the world – is the 44th player out of 60 that will vie for the gold medal.
Backed by ICTSI, Saso and Pagdanganan are expected to be in Japan at least a day before the two-day practice round on August 2 and 3, as the tournament proper for the women’s division is set August 4 to 7.
The men’s tournament, where Juvic Pagunsan will carry the fight for the Philippines, is set July 29 to August 1.