Rookie Yuka Saso turned in a four-under 68 despite a not so good finish and found herself just two strokes behind Min-Young Lee and Serena Aoki at the start of the rich JLPGA Championship Minolta Cup Thursday at the JFE Setonakai Golf Club in Okayama yesterday.
The Fil-Japanese ace had birdie chances in the first five holes but made up for those missed opportunities with three straight birdies starting on hole No. 6. She made two more on the 13th and 16th to have a good shot at taking a share of the lead.
But her 5-foot birdie putt on the next hole fell inches short of the cup then hit a wayward 3-wood tee-shot on the treacherous par-5 18th for her lone bogey.
In fact, she needed to take a safety shot off an awkward stance behind a pile of rocks and that proved costly as she found her third shot hitting the edge of the green and take a bad bounce into the bunker.
And worse, she blasted poorly thus negating what could be another explosive round.
She shared fifth place with seven others, including an in-form Sakura Koiwai.
But the day belonged to Lee and Aoki with the former spiking her fiery 66 with an ace on the 180-yard No. 8 and the latter churning out a bogey-free pair of 33s to seize control of the elite field.
The 28-year-old Lee, who missed the Nitori Ladies cut but tied for fourth in last week’s Golf5 Ladies ruled by Koiwai, used a 5-iron and bucked the wind with a low fade 5-iron tee-shot that landed 10 yards off the cup before rolling in.
The duo took a one-stroke lead over Ayako Kimura and former champion Teresa Lu, who shot identical 67s, while Koiwai likewise took advantage of an early start to shoot four birdies and tie Saso, Eri Joma, Erika Kikuchi, Yuri Yoshida, Erika Hara, Seira Oki and Mi-Jeong Jeon.
