Yuka Saso never gave up pursuing at least a Top 10 finish in her first crack at an LPGA major championship.

And her joint 13th effort on a closing 72 in the US Women’s Open in Houston spoke well of the caliber of the 19-year-old player who dreams of becoming world No. 1 some day.

That, however, meant the LPGA of Japan Tour money race leader would need more majors up her sleeve, and more years to toughen up and sharpen every aspect of her game.

• Golf: Yuka Saso caps US Women’s Open debut at 13th place

Rankings aside, though, Saso can find comfort in how robust her bank account has grown in her first year as a professional.

The ICTSI-backed Filipina-Japanese golf ended up pocketing $96,800 (P4.65 million) at Champions Golf Club.

Add this to the P510,000 for placing 25th at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open (LPGA event) before the pandemic and the almost P44 million on the Japan LPGA, she has already accumulated close to P50 million in her first year as a pro.

These are impressive numbers especially for the rookie, but on the course there is a lot of room to improve for the reigning Asian Games champion.

The opening round, as expected, was Saso’s breakout at the US LPGA. She drove to a distance of 267 yards off the tees, hitting all but four of 18 greens, landing on the fairway in 9 out of 14, and putting only 29 times.

The second and third rounds, Saso was visibly exhausted, likely because of fatigue stemming from cross-continental travel and lack of rest. She flew to the United States on December 4 and had just a few hours of sleep. After that, it was all business, as Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan, along with coach Carito Villaroman, checked out the course.

Saso’s distance dipped during the weekend to 257 and 241 yards; 17 out of 28 fairways; and 21 out of 18 greens. Worse, she putted 62 times.

In the few times she was shown on live feed, she appeared to lack that champion’s swagger. Those who have followed her career were not surprised as they have said she has the tendency to relax in the middle rounds.

Saso, who fell behind by as many as nine strokes with a bogey on No. 5 before play was halted Sunday due to inclement weather, rallied despite dropping another stroke on No. 7 at the resumption of play on Monday, as she birdied the next two par-3s (Nos. 8 and 12) then hit another on the par-5 13th to barge into the Top 10 with a 3-over overall total.

In the finale Monday (US time), Saso's stat line read: 233 yards, 28 putts, 7 out of 14 fairways and 10 out of 18 greens.

Still, her performance in her Major debut in the US LPGA exceeded expectations as Saso placed in the Top 15. She jumped five places to 45th in the Rolex World Rankings, fortifying her spot in the upcoming Olympics in Japan. And most of all, she proved doubters wrong: a golfer from the Philippines has the potential to become a world champion in the future.

“Yuka was excited to be at the Open from the beginning. I’m sure she gave it her all to win,” Villaroman said.

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