Yuka Saso rises to no. 9 in world rankings after historic US Open win

Yuka Saso is now a Top 10 lady golfer after her US Open conquest. LPGA

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—From one major breakthrough to another.

Due to her winning the US Women's Open, Filipina golfer Yuka Saso soared in the latest Ladies Professional Golf Association rankings.

Saso barged into the Top 10 after jumping 31 places from number 40 to number nine with 5.523 points per event after 35 tournaments.

Runner-up Nasa Hataoka of Japan also rose in the rankings as she is now at number 10.

Third placer Lexi Thompson of the United States, despite a shocking endgame collapse in the fourth round, also climbed in the world rankings as she is now in seventh place.

Three Koreans, Ko Jin-Young, Park In-Bee, and Kim Sei-Young, take the top three spots in the world rankings.

The top 15 golfers in the world by the Olympic cutoff, which is set on June 28, will get outright spots to the Tokyo Olympics, which means Saso is on track of joining nine other Filipinos to the Philippine team.

The remaining 45 spots will be allotted to the next best players from countries that do not have two qualifiers.

Bianca Pagdanganan, currently ranked 159th in the world by the LPGA, could qualify for the Olympics through the said rule. She is currently 42nd in the Olympic rankings, well within the 60-woman cutoff. 

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