YUKA YASUDA TRIUMPHS in 2019 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Japan
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On April 28, home favourite Yuka Yasuda, leading a tournament in the final round for the first time, provided a masterclass in frontrunning as she left the field in her wake and won the second Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP) at The Royal Golf Club by eight shots.
he 18-year-old from Kobe started the final round leading by two shots. After making a birdie on the opening hole, she never lost the honour over the next 17 tees and finished with a bogey-free seven under-par 65 to tally 11-under par 277 for the championship.
Two shots behind the leaders after a bogey on the 14th hole on Saturday, Yuka finished with one eagle and three birdies to grab sole possession of the lead by two at the end of the third round and increased that advantage to six shots with four birdies in her first five holes.
Atthaya Thitikul (71), champion at the inaugural WAAP in Singapore, finished runner-up at three-under- par while the Korean duo of Ye Won Lee (70) and Yaeeun Hong (73) were third and fourth respectively.
Yuka hit it close with her second shot on the first hole. She seemed to be in trouble on the second when her tee shot went into the trees but a superb second left her 20ft short of the pin and she made the putt. On the third, she poured in a 15ft putt. At that point, she was eight-under-par for her last seven holes.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to win the championship. But so many people came out today and they cheered and motivated me and I am happy that I could play some good golf,” said Yuka. “This is such a huge win for me. I am trying to become a professional golfer and I am sure this is going to open many doors for me in the future. “I get the opportunity to play two major championships with this win [the AIG Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship] and I am so excited about that. That experience will definitely help me become a better player in the future.”
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Ladies GOLF Summer/Autumn 2019/20 • ISSUE 26
Yuka made birdies on the par-4 fifth and par-5 eighth holes but equally important were her difficult par saves from the bunkers on the seventh and ninth holes. That helped her make the turn in 31 and nine-under-par for the tournament, seven ahead of Atthaya. On her back nine, Yuka added two more birdies on the par-5 13th and 16th holes to complete a dominant win. “I played a perfect round of golf today except for a couple of second shots after which I had to make good recoveries. I thought those two pars [on seven and nine] were very important to keep the momentum going my way,” she said. www.ladiesgolfmagazine.com.au
