AFTER two steady rounds, Yuka Saso slumped to a 74 yesterday (Saturday in Europe) and slipped to a six-way tie for 27th spot after the penultimate round of the AIG Women’s Open at the soggy Carnoustie Links in Carnoustie, Scotland.
Just two shots behind the leaders and tied for fifth place entering the round, Saso, who earlier scored 68 and 71, bogged down with three bogeys against one birdie over the par-72, 6,649-yard layout.
The reigning US Women’s Open champion slipped into tie a with five others with three-round totals of 213, six shots behind co-leaders Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and Denmark’s Nanna Koertsz Madsen, who checked in with 65 and 68, respectively.
Playing in wet and trying conditions, Saso bogeyed hole No. 2 on the front nine, added two more Nos. 10 and 11 before getting one shot back with a birdie No. 14 while parring the rest of the holes.
It was a dismal round for the 2018 Asian Games double gold medalist as she hit just 7-of-15 fairways and reached just 10 of 18 greens in regulation. — Bong Pedralvez
