The week in Pennsylvania started with the unthinkable.
The biggest story in golf so far in 2024 – Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking No. 1 Nelly Korda – was made human by the devilish 12th hole at Lancaster Country Club. She carded a 10 on a hole for the first time in nearly 8,700 holes as an LPGA Tour professional.
But the week ended with a classic United States Open flourish. Just when two-time champion Minjee Lee looked ready to sprint away from the pack, Yuka Saso hit four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to win her second US Women’s Open title. The two clubs in her bag at the ends of the spectrum played the biggest role in her run to another major league win.
Sasso is excellent on the greens
While many of the world’s best players struggled to find the right speed on the tricky putting surfaces at Lancaster Country Club, Saso looked completely at ease on the greens. Sasso hit a league-high 420 feet, almost 50 feet more than any other player. Her 13.5 strokes gained was not only the best in the field, it was the most by any player in a single LPGA Tour event so far in 2024 by nearly half a stroke.
Saso entered the week averaging 1.8 putts per round of 10 feet or more this season. At Lancaster, he hit 14 shots of at least 10 feet in the week, the most of any player. Her 34 one-putts for the week were five more than any other. That she had both a four and a three in the final round and still led the league in strokes gained is further proof of how incredible she has been with her shorter club all week.
At just 22 years old, Saso is the youngest two-time US Women’s Open champion in history, surpassing Hollis Stacy (24 years, 4 months, 17 days in 1978) for the distinction. The Japanese player is just the fourth player from outside the United States to win multiple titles at the US Women’s Open, joining Annika Sorenstam (Sweden), Inbee Park (Korea Republic) and Karrie Webb (Australia). Saso is the third player in LPGA Tour history to win both of her first majors, joining Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun – the previous winner of a US Women’s Open held at Lancaster Country Club.
Power player
Saso also used her power play for significant gains throughout the week. She was one of only three players to average at least 270 yards off the tee in all four rounds, joining Maude-Aimee Leblanc and Yan Liu. Saso ranked third for the week in strokes gained off the tee, behind only Alexa Pano and Casandra Alexander.
Compared to the rest of the competition at Lancaster, performance off the tee was a particularly vital element to Saso’s success. Saso took 34.2% of her total strokes gained off the tee. The rest of the players in the top-10? Just 11.3%
With just one top-10 finish on the season entering the week, Saso had a 1.8% chance of winning before the tournament according to KPMG Performance Insights, the 17th highest rate of any player. Saso will always be much higher in these predictions in the coming years when analyzing the difficult setups presented by the US Women’s Open.
Mock test
Throughout the week, Lancaster Country Club showed again why it is one of the most underrated championship courses in the United States. As huge crowds welcomed an outstanding week of competition, the golf course showed its teeth while identifying a worthy champion.
Just two players finished the tournament under par, the fewest at a US Women’s Open in ten years. At Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, winner Michelle Wie West was the only player to finish with a score better than par. For the week, the course finished with an average score of +4.02, again the highest for a US Women’s Open since Pinehurst in 2014 (+4.61). The course hit the green in regulation just over 61% for the championship, well below the LPGA Tour average this season (about 66%).
Performances you can count on
Ally Ewing tied the low round of the championship on Sunday, shooting an outstanding 66. Her approach was outstanding as she beat the field by more than four strokes, a personal season best for each round. In the final two rounds, Ewing’s average proximity to the hole on approach shots was 23 feet, about half the field average for the league. Her tie for third place is her career-best result in any major.
Fellow US Solheim Cup team member Andrea Lee tied Ewing for the best finish of her career at a major championship as well. Lee is the only player to finish in the top-20 in each of the last three LPGA majors contested. A former top amateur in the world, Lee can’t play the power game like some of her peers. last week, he averaged nearly 40 yards off the tee to Sasso.
But when her approach game and stakes are sharp, she can still compete with anyone, anywhere. Lee has won at least a stroke with her approach game and played in eight rounds this season, including three rounds at last week’s US Women’s Open. Her average score when doing this is 68.38.
In just her fourth start of the LPGA season, Atthaya Thitikul is rediscovering her top form. Thitikul closed her tournament with rounds of 68-68, tied for the second-best 36-hole score by any player (Ewing shot 68-66). The 21-year-old from Thailand earned 6.79 strokes gained on the weekend, the most of any player. It was her seventh top-10 finish in a major since the summer of 2021.