Golf may have its next dominant champion as Yuka Saso won the the U.S. Women’s Open title at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club Sunday, firing a 2-under 68 in the final round to capture the title. The 22-year-old Saso has already won the U.S. Open twice in her career.

https://twitter.com/uswomensopen/status/1797392226185580863

Saso also won the 2021 U.S. Open. Saso became the first Japanese player to win the title. When she won her earlier U.S. Open she was representing the Philippines.

Saso’s mother is from the Philippines and her father is from Japan. She declared that she would play for Japan prior to her 21st birthday.

“Winning in 2021, I represented the Philippines. I feel like I was able to give back to my mom,” Saso said. “This year I was able to represent Japan, and I think I was able to give back to my dad. I’m very happy that I was able to do it.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling that I was able to give back to my parents in the same way.”

Saso defeated her Japanese country woman Hinako Shibuno by three shots, another major championship winner. Shibuno won the women’s British Open in 2019, and she became the first Japanese player to win that tournament.

Back nine tells the story for Saso

Saso was able to take charge in the tournament on the back nine when she reeled off four birdies in a five-hole stretch. That allowed her to build a lead, and none of the other players in the field were able to make serious inroads.

The difficulty of Lancaster Country Club prevented any of the players in the field other than Saso or Shibuno from finishing under par. Andrea Lee of the United States started the round tied for first place, but she fired a 5 over 75, and that left her at even par for the tournament. She had a chance to improve her position on the closing holes, but she was unable to make a move on Saso.

Andrea Lee hit a poor shot on the 16th hole and had to settle for a par on that hole. She followed with bogeys on both the 17th and 18th holes, and that meant she had to settle for a third-place tie with American Ally Ewing.

Saso started the day three shots back of a trio of golfers. But the leaders made multiple errors and that allowed Saso to catch up and eventually pass them. Saso was steady for the first 11 holes and then went on her run of birdies to secure the title.

Yuka Saso became the 15th player in women’s golf history to win multiple championships. She earned a prize of $2.4 million for winning the title, and will likely represent Japan in in the Olympic golf competition in Paris this summer.