(Eagle News)– Two Filipina golfers are competing at the start of the rounds for the women’s golf tournament in the Tokyo Olympics today, Wednesday, Aug. 4.
The two golfers are Yuka Saso who won the first ever gold medal for the Philippines in both women’s individual and women’s team event in Asian Games golf competitions, and team mate Bianca Pagdanganan,a dual medalist in the 2018 Asian Games who won a bronze in the women’s individual event and a gold medal in the team event with Yuka Saso.
Saso and Pagdanganan are both playing on Round 1 of the women’s golf tournament at the Kasumigaseki Country Club near Saitama.
This follows the men’s event which ended in a seven-way playoff for bronze on Sunday.
Competing in the event are all three Rio Olympics medallists, Park In-bee, Lydia Ko and Feng Shanshan, are back for another shot at glory for their countries in an elite field of 60 players which contains all the current top 10 in the world rankings and 16 of the top 20.
The 20-year old Saso, whose father is Japanese and mother is a Filipino was born in Bulacan. She started training at age eight in the sport, and lists Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy as her model. She won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open which is her first major title, becoming the first-ever Filipino to win the tournament.
The 23-year old Pagdanganan who is from Quezon City was influenced by her father to play golf also at a young age, as her father brought her along in his weekend golf games after she expressed curiousity about it. She won individual and team gold medals gold at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Meanwhile, Agence France Presse listed Saso as one of the five players to watch in the Olympic Women’s Golf.
Here are AFP’s highlights of five players to watch.
Park In-bee (KOR)
The Rio gold medallist admitted the stress she suffered back home in South Korea to win at the 2016 Olympics was the worst she had ever encountered and it almost crushed her — remarkable for a seven-time major winner.
More relaxed this year, she is aiming for nothing less than a second gold to sit in the trophy cabinet her father built in her house.
“It’s a little bit different to 2016,” she said about the lack of spectators this week. “But the same result would be nice, right?”
Lydia Ko (NZL)
Precocious young talent and then silver medallist in Rio, Ko endured a slump in form before ending a three-year win drought at the Lotte Championship in April.
The South Korean-born Ko took the world of golf by storm in 2012 at the age of 14 when she became the youngest player, male or female, to win a professional tournament at the New South Wales Open.
At 15 she was the youngest player to win a US LPGA Tour event and at the age of 18 was the youngest to capture a major at the 2015 Evian Championship.
Back in form, don’t be surprised if she challenges the podium again.
“I’m super excited for the Tokyo Olympics,” she said. “I’ve always felt very proud to fly the New Zealand flag.”
Nelly Korda (USA)
She reached number one in the world this year after winning her first major at the US Women’s PGA Championship a the end of June.
Korda is one half of a sister act with older, 15th-ranked sibling Jessica in a four-woman USA team which also fields Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang.
She won the 2019 Women’s Australian Open to complete a “Family Slam” in Australia. Her father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open singles in tennis.
Her older sister, Jessica, won the Women’s Australian Open in 2012 and her younger brother, Sebastian, won the 2018 tennis Australian Open junior boys championship.
“There’s no experience like representing Team USA,” she said this week.
Yuka Saso (PHI)
The first major winner from the Philippines, at the US Women’s Open in June, Saso could become just the second Olympic gold medal winner in history from her country. Hidilyn Diaz was the first last week in the women’s 55kg weightlifting.
She would be a popular winner at Tokyo 2020 as her father is Japanese.
The 20-year-old models her swing on her idol, Rory McIlroy, and had the opportunity to watch him up close at Kasumigaseki Country Club in the men’s event.
“Watching him rip it is really good,” Saso said after following the four-time major winner during round one on Thursday. The pair were spotted sharing tips on the practice ground over the next few days.
“I feel very lucky him saying ‘Hi’ to me or greeting me in any way so I’ll treasure it.”
Minjee Lee (AUS)
Lee is in top form after making a career-defining breakthrough just over a week ago when she won her maiden major at the Evian Championship in France after a stunning final-round comeback.
She started the day seven shots off the pace, but carded a brilliant 64 and eventually beat Lee Jeong-eun in a play-off, tying the record for the largest deficit overcome to win a women’s major.
Lee’s triumph came just a couple of weeks after her brother, Min Woo, won the Scottish Open for his biggest professional victory.
Lee finished tied seventh at the Rio Olympics, two strokes outside the bronze medal position, largely down to a disappointing third-round two-over par 73.
(with a report from Daniel HICKS, Agence France Presse)