Yuka Saso suffered another tough day, ending the 2021 LPGA CME Group Tour Championship in 48th place with a total of 3-under 285, as the competition closed at the Tiburon Golf Club on Monday morning (Philippine time).
Saso pocketed an additional P 841,789.02 to her earnings with the finish.
The past two days have been rocky ones for the world number 6 after a solid start on Thursday. Saso thus slipped further down the ranks and virtually took herself out of contention. Nonetheless, ending a milestone of a year was on top of her mind.
Instead, Saso had another tough day and carved a 1-over 73 for the third straight round for her final card.
The tour rookie encountered her first mishap after needing to tackle her very first hole of the day – the No. 10 – with an extra shot. She then, instead of gaining shots, dropped another on No. 16, putting her to a 2-over 38 at the turn.
Saso found herself in her lowest in the three rounds with 1-under overall with yet another bogey on No. 3. The 2021 US Women’s Open champion would, nonetheless, not have any of that anymore, and closed the day on a better note – with two birdies, one each from No. 4 and No. 8.
Ko Jin-Young, who was world number 1 for a few weeks recently, played a solid day on Sunday with a bogey-free 9-under 63 and took the title, the Player of the Year award, and the hefty $1.5-million {P 75,996,750.00) winner’s prize.
The Korean is also likely to end the year on top of the Rolex World Rankings with the win.
