With the San Francisco Bay Area’s large Filipino community cheering her on, Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso won the U.S. Open title Sunday.
The 19 year whose mother is Filipino and father is Japanese joins South Korea’s Park Inbee as the youngest ever to win the prestigious golf tournament held this year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The two are the exact same age to the day.
Large flags of the Philippine blew in the wind with Daly City, known as the Filipino capital of the United States, nearby.
Saso said she was thankful for the support she received from the Philippines. She birdied on the third hole of the playoff round breaking a tie with Japan’s Nasa Hataoka.
19-year old Yuka Saso just became the first person from the Philippines to win a PGA or LPGA major tournament. What a moment. pic.twitter.com/f1rIrJgPpK
— Caleb Turrentine (@CalebTurrentine) June 6, 2021
“To all my friends and fans back in the Philippines and Japan, I’m really thankful. I hope I can keep this going,” she said in a post tournament news conference.
Saso’s day did not start so well. She had two double bogeys in the first three holes, but said her caddy talked her into focusing on the remaining holes. The pep talk obviously worked.
According to CNN, Saso named Rory McElroy as her inspiration who offered her encouragement on social media Sunday.
“Rory said, ‘Get that trophy,’ and I did. So thank you, Rory,” she said.
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