Yuka Saso pulled off a shocker when she made history by becoming the youngest golfer to emerge victorious in the US Women’s Open twice.
But lawyer Bobbet Bruce was no longer surprised.
In a telephone interview, Bruce stressed that she knew the 22-year-old Saso was destined for something great due to the hard work she exerted and the sacrifices she made at such a young age.
Bruce said Saso had been campaigning actively around the world at 14 years old that left her without a choice but to sacrifice her personal life, studies and relationships with her friends and family to pursue her dream of being the best golfer.
“Aside from her talent, it was her hard work that sets her apart from other golfers,” said Bruce, the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines president when Yuka was rising in the international junior scene, told Daily Tribune on Monday.
Bruce’s daughter, Sam, now a rookie on the Ladies European Tour after completing her computer science degree in the United States, was part of the star-studded batch of junior golfers together with Saso and Ladies Philippine Golf Tour powerhouse Harmie Constantino, who all made the national women’s team at 14.
“They grew up playing golf together and often travel to the same events. That’s why Yuka is very close to us. You cannot really determine the depth of talent when they were starting out, but a lot of us in the junior golf community knew she could be special because of the hard work she puts in.”
“She’s already winning and doing well at 12 but her game began to rise to a different level when she was 14 to 15 years old. That’s the time that she started competing actively around the world against tougher competition which further sharpened her game and developed her maturity when the victory was on the line.”
The maturity that Bruce was talking about was in full display early Monday (Manila time) at the Lancaster Golf Club — the site of the 79th edition of the US Women’s Open.
Saso entered the final round trailing Andrea Lee of the United States, Minjee Lee of Australia and Wichanee Meechai of Thailand, who were tied on top at 5-under.
Saso, who was born in San Ildefonso, Bulacan to a Filipino mother and a Japanese father, grabbed a birdie on the second hole to move to 3-under overall.
She flirted with disaster after suffering a double bogey on the par-3 6th hole but recovered by pulling off a birdie in the tough par-3 12th hole to get back to 2-under an inch closer to the leaders.
She made another birdie on the par-5 13th hole to jump to 3-under before striking her 188-yard approach shot on the par-4 15th hole to five feet for a birdie putt to move to 4-under overall, two shots ahead of Andrea.
She hit the green on the drivable 239-yard par-4 16th hole, two-putting for birdie to get to 5-under total. Then, she dropped a shot on the par-3 17th hole to slip back to 4-under and hold just a two-shot lead with one hole to play and the victory within reach.
But after finding the fairway on the 18th hole, Saso’s second shot fell short, leaving her supporters at the edge of their seats.
The Filipino-Japanese ace, however, didn’t crumble under pressure in one of the biggest moments of her young career, chipping her third shot to 21 inches and holing her par putt to post the clubhouse lead at 4-under.
Pressured, Andrea made another bogey at the 17th to slip back to 1-under that signaled Saso’s second victory in one of the most prestigious golf events in the world.
Bruce said he knew Saso can handle the pressure.
“When Yuka went two up, I went to sleep. It was hers. I knew they would not be able to catch her,” he said, referring to Saso, who finished with a four-under-par total of 276 to pocket a cash prize of roughly P140.8 million.
“That’s the result of hard work and sacrifices matched with great talent.”
Bruce added that Saso’s feats during her developmental stage can be compared to that of Dottie Ardina and Jennifer Rosales before her and Rianne Malixi recently.
“They are the best of their batch and they may have different backgrounds and pathways starting out but what Yuka has in common with all of them is that they all worked hard and have the determination to be the best. Talent is never enough,” he said.
“You have to work hard and be obsessed with getting better for you to achieve great success. One of Yuka’s greatest talents is that she is tireless in wanting to get better.”
“Yuka’s win was a combination of talent, hard work, determination and sacrifices. She did everything correctly.”