In an up-and-down second round, Yuka Saso still found herself within striking distance of a third LPGA of Japan win.
Saso was hard-pressed to follow up on her strong opening round and ended up at 2-over 74 to retain her place in joint seventh at the end of the second day of the 2020 Fujitsu Ladies Golf Tournament, Saturday afternoon at the Tokyu Seven Hundred Club, Chiba.
Saso zoomed to third place after several golfers struggled at the start of the round. The Filipina-Japanese Asian Games champion registered two birdies in the front nine taking the fourth and fifth holes one stroke less. Two bogeys in the next two strokes canceled these out and she ended at even 36 at the end of nine holes.
However, the two-time winner had a tough time keeping up the pace and suffered two more bogeys that negated two more birdies at the back nine. A double bogey in the 16th hole pushed Saso back to where she started the day.
Saki Asai took over the lead after getting a 5-under 67 for today to end up with a 5-under 139 on aggregate, just five strokes less than Saso’s even 144.
The 19-year-old Filipina looks to bounce back on Sunday morning as the tournament goes into its final 18 holes in this southeastern Japanese city.
