The teens were the talk of the town.
Seventeen-year-old Megha Ganne, a high school senior-to-be, grabbed her share of headlines this week but it was 19-year-old Yuka Saso who is taking home the championship hardware.
Saso defeated Nasa Hataoka in a playoff at The Olympic Club in San Francisco Sunday to win the 76th U.S. Women’s Open.
Saso, No. 40 in the Rolex Rankings and a two-time winner on the Japan LPGA, could’ve packed it in after back-to-back double bogeys on the 2nd and 3rd holes. But she righted the ship and climbed back into contention after making back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to get to 4 under. On 18 she had a putt to win the championship but missed. Nonetheless, her final-round 73 got her into the playoff with Hataoka.
The playoff went to a third hole, where Saso drained an eight-footer for the win. She ties the mark for the youngest U.S. Women’s Open champion.
U.S. Women’s Open: Scores | Photos
Meanwhile, Lexi Thompson will have to wait another year to win the U.S. Women’s Open. In her 15th USWO appearance and 50th major start, Thompson opened the final round with a one-shot advantage, got the lead to five strokes after just five holes but then stumbled. She double bogeyed the 11th, bogeyed the 13th, parred the par-5 16th and closed with bogeys on 17 and 18 to post a final-round 75 and miss the playoff by a shot. She finished in solo 3rd.
Thompson, 26, last won a major at the 2014 ANA Inspiration. Juli Inkster won her first U.S. Women’s Open title in her 20th start. Thompson is second on that list, having played in 15 now without nabbing that first win.
Ganne, who played with Thompson and Sosa in the final round, shot a 77 and finished as the low amateur.
from Golfweek https://ift.tt/3vYuJBo