LANCASTER, Pa. — Former champion Yuka Saso leaned on her putter to survive a brutally tough start to the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday, an opening round that featured top-ranked Nelly Korda making a 10 on her third hole and only four players barely beating par.
Saso had three big par putts to start the back nine at Lancaster Country Club, rolled in two medium-length birdie putts toward the end of her round and finished with three putts from the collar of the 18th green for a bogey and a 2-under-par 68.
It felt even lower than that considering all the carnage around her. The leading 10 players from the Women’s World Golf Rankings had an average score of 75.5 — including Korda’s 80 — and only two-time major champion Minjee Lee was not over par.
“It’s a U.S. Open. It’s a major. It’s the biggest major championship, and I think it’s one of the most difficult weeks that we’ll play,” Saso said. “I don’t tell myself to be confident or anything like that.”
Saso, who seized on Lexi Thompson’s meltdown to win the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, led by one shot over Andrea Lee, Wichanee Meechai of Thailand and recently crowned NCAA champion Adela Cernousek of France.