Carnage. That was the word of the day on Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally as virtually every name at the top of the leaderboard struggled to tame the beast that is Lancaster Country Club.
But it was 2021 U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso who ultimately slayed the dragon of a venue to hoist the Harton S. Semple trophy at the conclusion of the 79th playing of the major championship, emerging victoriously from a wildly dramatic final day in Pennsylvania.
At the start of the final round, Andrea Lee, Minjee Lee and Wichanee Meechai were tied at the top at 5-under. Playing in the penultimate pairing with Hinako Shibuno, Meechai immediately bogeyed to drop back to 4-under, and Andrea did the same to sit in a tie with Meechai as Minjee surged to 6-under after sticking her approach shot to 10 feet on the 1st hole and holing her birdie putt.
Meechai then fell even further with a bogey on the par-4 2nd hole, and after she tripled the par-3 6th hole, the Thailand native took herself completely out of the conversation at Lancaster Country Club, making three bogeys and a birdie in her final 12 holes to finish in a tie for sixth at 2-over total.
After Minjee made her first bogey of the round on the third hole to slip back to 5-under, Andrea made a mess of the par-4, 4th hole, carding a double bogey after finding the water off the tee to drop to 2-under total. Two holes later, Minjee three-putted six en route to her second bogey of the round, now at 4-under overall. She then bogeyed nine to sit at 3-under, still holding a two-shot lead over Andrea with nine holes to play.
With Andrea lurking at 1-under, Minjee again made a bogey on the 10th hole to drop to 2-under total, and her advantage completely evaporated after a watery tee shot on the par-3 12th hole caused the two-time major champion to double the hardest hole of the week.
With the Aussie on the ropes, Andrea capitalized, draining a 16-foot birdie putt on 12 to get back to 2-under and give herself a chance to do the improbable down the stretch at the year’s second major championship.
But 2021 U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso had other plans. She started the round three shots behind the trio of leaders, grabbing a birdie on the second hole to move to 3-under overall.
A four-putt double bogey on the par-3 6th hole took the wind out of Saso’s sails, dropping her back to 1-under, where the Japan native stayed until she birdied the difficult par-3 12th hole to get back to 2-under and move to the top of the heap. Saso made another birdie on the par-5 13th hole to jump to 3-under, and as everyone desperately tried to make up ground, the 22-year-old threw it into cruise control in her final five holes at Lancaster Country Club.
Saso stuck her 188-yard approach shot on the par-4 15th hole to five feet, knocking in her resulting birdie putt to move to 4-under overall, now two ahead of Andrea. She hit the green on the drivable 239-yard par-4 16th hole, two-putting for birdie to get to 5-under total. Saso then dropped a shot on the par-3 17th hole to slip back to 4-under and hold just a two-shot lead with one hole to play.
After finding the fairway on the par-4 18th hole, Saso left her second shot short, giving herself a nervy up-and-down to secure the victory. But like a battle-tested veteran, Saso didn’t appear to bat an eye in one of the biggest moments of her young career, chipping her third shot to 21 inches and holing her par putt to post the clubhouse lead at 4-under.
And when Andrea made another bogey on 17 to slip back to 1-under, it was Saso who was celebrating in scoring at Lancaster Country Club, victorious once again at the U.S. Women’s Open.
“Since 2021, I haven’t won after that,” said Saso of her second LPGA Tour victory. “I think it makes it special because after a long wait, and I wasn’t expecting to win the U.S. Women’s Open, the last time, too, I wasn’t expecting it, and this time, too, I wasn’t expecting it. I think that’s why it made me a bit emotional. Winning just makes you look back in all the things that your family and your team and my sponsors, they supported me throughout good or bad.”
