Yuka Saso ended her 2021 LPGA Marathon Classic campaign on a high note as her 7-under 64 the previous day turned out to be her parting shot, as inclement weather forced the organizers to shorten the tournament to a 54-hole one, Sunday afternoon (Monday early morning, Manila time).
The world no. 8 female golfer ended with a fifth-place finish off a 71-67-64 scoreline for an 11-under 202, just eight strokes off eventual winner Nasa Hataoka, who carded 61-69-64 to end at 19-under 194,
Saso, the US Women’s Open champion, had stepped into the greens and had finished her first hole, the No. 1, with a par before play was temporarily suspended at 9:40 a.m.
However, the rain continued to fall and the organizers finally decided to call off the tournament at 4 p.m., because as the official Twitter account of the LPGA announced “finishing the tournament tomorrow is not an option due to an unfavorable forecast.”
In this regard, Hataoka finally claimed her first title in 2019 after getting near the US Women’s Open title if not for Saso’s run in that tournament. The champion was six strokes ahead of her runners-up in Americans Elizabeth Szokol and Mina Harigae.
Bianca Pagdanganan has also played through three holes before the suspension of play with a bogey in No. 10.
Nonetheless, the cancellation of the scores for the day meant she preserved under 3-under 210 and her eventual finish at a share of 50th place.
Pagdanganan is set to compete in the following tournament in the LPGA calendar, which is the 2021 Dow Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Michigan.
