US Women’s Open Championship: Yuka Saso not expecting much in title defence, just hoping to stay calm and have fun

Defending any title for the first time can be a daunting experience, doubly so when it’s a major tournament, and US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso said she had little idea of what to expect when her moment comes in 10 days.

Saso won her “life-changing” title in a sudden-death play-off last year in San Francisco, but nearly 12 months later the 20-year-old admitted she was still not completely comfortable being known as a major winner.

Victory earned Saso a five-year LPGA Tour card and the right to compete alongside “players I’ve been dreaming of playing with”, but even then she prefers to keep a low profile.

“I’m a very low-key person, I don’t really go out and say ‘hey, I’m the champion’,” she said. “I respect all the players on tour, and the fact that they still talk to me like I’m 20 years old and not as a major champion is just awesome.”

Still, while the Japanese-Filipino golfer said being introduced as a US Women’s Open champion made her “uncomfortable at a few events”, the title had a nice ring to it and gave her “a good push to start the day”.

“It’s going to be my first event coming back as defending champion, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Saso said during a media availability session organised by sponsors AXA. “This will be my first experience of it, so I’m hoping to just stay calm, and do what I do for other tournaments, not trying to overdo things, and enjoy the week again, and have fun.”

Ranked No 15 in the world, Saso is no stranger to success on the golf course. She won the World Junior Girls Championship in 2016, made history at the Asian Games two years later when she claimed team and individual gold for the Philippines, and won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour.