Saso struggles as lwai holds sway at Honda LPGA Thailand

February 21, 2025 | 4:47pm

MANILA, Philippines -- Yuka Saso struggled to make a strong push on another low-scoring day at the Siam Country Club’s Old Course, settling for a two-under-par 70 and dropping further off the pace halfway through of the Honda LPGA Thailand still paced by Akie Iwai in Pattaya, Chonburi on Friday.

While the tournament’s top contenders surged with strong starts and even stronger finishes, Saso endured an up-and-down front nine, carding three birdies against two bogeys for a 35. A bogey on the 12th further hampered her momentum, but she managed to recover with two birdies in the last four holes, salvaging a two-under card.

Adding her first-round 69, the ICTSI-backed Saso stayed at joint 15th with a 139 aggregate, now 10 strokes behind Iwai, who remained at the helm with a 67 for a 129, two strokes ahead of Angel Yin, who made a strong move, closing in with a blistering 64, capped by three straight birdies from No. 13, for 131.

Meanwhile, home favorite Jeeno Thitikul also delivered an impressive eight-under-par round, highlighted by six birdies at the front nine. She briefly reached seven-under after another birdie on the 10th but lost momentum with a bogey on the 13th.

However, she holed out with back-to-back birdies for a 30-34, placin her at 132 in a tie with Moriya Jutanugarn, who fired a 66, marked by four consecutive birdies from No. 12.

Saso, aiming to rebound from lackluster finishes in the Tournament of Champions (T30th) and the Founders Cup (T59th), struggled with her accuracy off the tee.

She hit just eight fairways on a 270-yard driving average, missed six greens, but managed to compensate with 28 putts.

In contrast, Iwai held off her rivals with a sharp putting performance, missing just four fairways and failing to hit five greens in regulation but keeping her total at 27 putts.

Yin displayed the most consistency, missing just one fairway, two greens, and sinking 27 putts.

Thitikul, on the other hand, hit 12 fairways, 16 greens and wrapped up with 26 putts, further crowding the leaderboard in this $1.7-million tournament, the first of two events in the LPGA Tour’s Southeast Asian swing.

The circuit moves to Singapore for the Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course from Feb. 27 to March 2.

Meanwhile, Jutanugarn also hit 12 fairways, 16 greens, and finished with 27 putts, keeping herself in the mix.