Mao Saigo of Japan Wins the Chevron Championship with a Birdie in a 5-Way Playoff
The Associated Press
Mao Saigo, of Japan, in yellow, jumps into the water after winning the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Sunday, April 27, 2025, in The Woodlands, Texas.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Mao Saigo was shaking with nervousness before her birdie putt on the first hole of a five-way playoff Sunday in the Chevron Championship.
The 23-year-old Japanese player managed to compose herself in time to sink the 3-footer and win her first major title.
'I did my best to calm down and I shot and it went in,' she said in Japanese through a translator.
Saigo birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 2-under 74, leaving her tied with Hyo Joo Kim, Ruoning Yin, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lindy Duncan. They finished at 7-under 281 at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Saigo won on the 18th in the playoff after Yin and Jutanugarn had birdie tries lip out. Jutanugarn bogeyed the 18th in regulation after stubbing her third shot only inches.
Jutanugarn led for most of the final round before her late gaffe after making two birdies and an eagle on the front nine.
'The front nine was very solid especially with the eagle, but back nine just couple mistakes on par 5 that I made; two bogeys,' she said.
Yin was in the best position in the playoff after getting onto the green in two shots. But she missed a 12-foot eagle putt and her comebacker for birdie lipped out to set up Saigo for the win.
Saigo won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. She was the tour's rookie of the year last season. She's the first Japanese winner in the event and the fifth major champion. She has six victories on the Japanese tour, five in 2022.
The victory comes after runner-up finishes at the CPKC Women's Open and Buick LPGA Shanghai last year.
'Last year it was a very intense competition,' she said. 'I was so close but I was not able to make it. It was very disappointing. This year I was able to win and earn the LPGA title and I'm extremely excited about this.'
The 34-year-old Duncan bogeyed the playoff hole to come up short in her more than a decade-long quest to win her first title. But she was still happy with her performance overall.
'Yeah, top five in a major, any week, is unbelievable; to have a chance, feeling the nerves,' she said. 'And I feel like I have some things to learn about how to handle my swing and things like that. I'll reflect on it (but) yeah, but what a week.'
It's the second time in three years that the tournament ended in a playoff after American Lilia Vu birdied the first extra hole to win in 2023.
Saigo took home $1.2 million from the $8 million purse.
Winners had been jumping into Poppie's Pond off the 18th green at Mission Hills since 1988, and Saigo became the third to do it in Texas by leaping into the brown-tinged water. She shrieked and smiled as she went in holding hands with two members of her team.
The experience ended up being a bit harrowing for Saigo who said she isn't a very good swimmer.
'When I went inside it was deep and at first I thought I was going to drown,' she said.
Saigo entered the day tied with Haeran Ryu at 9 under. But she bogeyed five holes Sunday to fall behind before her birdie on the 18th hole got her a spot in the playoff to set up the thrilling finish.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda shot 70 to tie for 14th at 2 under. Winless this season, she won the event last year for the last of her record-tying five straight victories.
'Obviously, I have a lot to work on,' she said. 'Last year was last year. Such an amazing year but it's in the past. It's not going to help me with my future.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asahi Shimbun
5 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Group: Illegal sports bets total 6.5 trillion yen from Japan
Hironori Inagaki, representative director of the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion, explains the state of sports betting markets. (Kosuke Inagaki) Gamblers in Japan illegally bet 6.5 trillion yen ($46 billion) on sports through overseas websites in 2024, a sign the nation should ratify an international treaty on preventing match-fixing, a group said. Betting on sports competitions has become a huge business in many countries. But most forms of sport gambling, including online wagering on competition outcomes, are prohibited in Japan. The Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion (C-SEP) released its estimated Japanese wager amount during a symposium in Tokyo on May 14. C-SEP, a Japanese general incorporated foundation aimed at expanding the sports industry, said these overseas websites have been gaining a 'free ride' on sport competitions in Japan. Last year, 4.9 trillion yen was wagered through such sites on baseball, soccer, basketball and other sports played in Japan, C-SEP officials said. Of this amount, 3.8928 trillion yen was wagered by people overseas and 1.0183 trillion yen was placed in bets by residents of Japan. Soccer, including matches, accounted for the largest slice of the bets, at 2.8534 trillion yen, followed by Nippon Professional Baseball, at 882.9 billion yen, and basketball, including games, at 522.3 billion yen. About 60 percent of the bets on Japanese soccer were placed from China, compared with just over 10 percent from Japan. Sixty percent of the bets on Japanese baseball were placed from Japan, the officials said. Some sports betting websites overseas were found livestreaming the action from professional sport competitions in Japan, as well as using team logos and even portraits of athletes, without permission, the officials added. C-SEP Representative Director Hironori Inagaki, who is also a lawyer, recommended that Japan ratify the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, which the Council of Europe brought into effect in 2019. More commonly known as the Macolin Convention, the international arrangement calls on public authorities and sport organizations to work together to prevent match-fixing and other irregularities. Inagaki said the convention has been signed by 43 countries and ratified by 14 so far. 'There is a pressing need, for Japan as well, to build a similar arrangement and join a similar framework of international cooperation,' Inagaki said. Yuki Ota, an Olympic fencing medalist and an International Olympic Committee member, also took part in the symposium. He explained that 1.65 trillion yen was bet on events at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. 'Many Japanese athletes compete in the Olympic Games, so there is a need for integrity education,' Ota said. Toshikazu Yamaguchi, president of the Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings newspaper publisher who is also owner of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, expressed remorse over the recent revelation that some ballplayers, including Giants' members, were involved in illegal gambling on online casinos. 'With the spread of smartphones, there is a greater risk than a decade ago of players being involved in gambling,' Yamaguchi said. 'Japan should work toward signing and ratifying the Macolin Convention to prevent the nation's sporting world from being polluted with gambling and manipulation, which are descending on us from overseas.' He also pointed out there is no joint public-private body in Japan to address the issue. 'We should learn from cases overseas and promptly discuss the matter,' he said. (This article was written by Kosuke Inagaki and Taisuke Goto.)
Japan Today
7 hours ago
- Japan Today
Will visa delays and border fears keep international fans away from the Club World Cup in the US?
FILE - Fans fill the Rose Bowl as Chelsea plays Liverpool FC in an International Champions Cup soccer match , July 27, 2016, in Pasadena, Calif. (Carlos Delgado/AP Images for International Champions Cup, via AP, File) soccer By ANNE M. PETERSON As the United States readies for the FIFA Club World Cup, concern over such things as international travel, fan safety and even economic uncertainty threaten to diminish enthusiasm for the tournament. The United States will see the arrival of 32 professional club teams from around the globe to 11 cities for the tournament. There's a $1 billion prize pool. The Club World Cup is considered in many ways to be a dress rehearsal for the big event, the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. But there seems to be little buzz for the Club World Cup at home or abroad. The expansion of the field from seven to 32 teams has diminished the exclusivity of the event, and ticket sales appear slow. At the same time, the tournament is being played amid reports of foreign tourists being detained and visa processing delays. Chaotic U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and President Donald Trump's travel bans aren't exactly reassuring international fans, either. Trump's policies appear to have already impacted travelers. The National Travel and Tourism Office released data showing visitors to the U.S. from foreign countries fell 9.7% in March compared to the same month last year. The travel forecasting company Tourism Economics has predicted that international arrivals would decline 9.4% this year. The U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit group that represents the travel industry, has urged the Trump administration to improve such things as visa processing and customs wait times ahead of a series of big sporting events on U.S. soil, including the Club World Cup beginning June 14, the Ryder Cup later this year, next summer's World Cup, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Association President Geoff Freeman said, for example, that the wait in Colombia for a visa interview appointment is upwards of 18 months — already putting the 2026 World Cup out of reach for some travelers. He said his organization is working with the White House's World Cup Task Force to address issues. 'They (the task force) recognize how important this event is: success is the only option. So we're eager to work with them to do whatever it is we need to do to ensure that we can welcome the millions of incremental visitors that we think are possible," Freeman said. "But these underlying issues of visa and customs, we've got to address.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing last month, suggested consular staff could be put on longer shifts and that artificial intelligence could be used to process visas. 'We want it to be a success. It's a priority for the president,' said Rubio. But the Trump administration may have added to the concerns for international visitors by issuing a ban on travelers from 12 countries, with restrictions on travel from nine more countries. Iran, one of the countries named, has qualified for the World Cup. The proclamation included an exemption for 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.' It did not mention fans. There are signs current immigration policies were already impacting soccer fans and spurring worries over safety. A Latin American supporters group in Nashville stayed away from a recent Major League Soccer game because of ICE activity in the city. The city's Geodis Park is set to host three Club World Cup matches. Danny Navarro, who offers travel advice to followers on his social media platforms under the moniker TravelFutbolFan, said the World Cup Task Force announcement did not allay fears about travel, especially when Vice President JD Vance said, 'We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem.' That insinuated fans visiting the United States for the World Cup could use it to stay in the country, which is nonsensical, Navarro maintained. For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup — an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices — are broadly viewed as higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning. Navarro put the onus on FIFA. 'They must know that there is an anxiety among international travelers wanting to come in. They must know there's an anxiety among the U.S. fan base that is multicultural and wanting to go to all these places. Are they going to? Are they going to be harassed by ICE?' Navarro said. 'There is just a lot of uncertainty, I would say, too much uncertainty, that the fan base doesn't want to think about." It remains to be seen how outside factors will ultimately impact the Club World Cup, which is not the global spectacle or draw that the World Cup is. Ticket sales, which were based on a dynamic pricing model, appear to be slow, with lowered prices from earlier this year and a slew of recent promotions. For a match between Paris Saint-Germain and Botafogo at the Rose Bowl on June 19, there were wide swaths of available seats going for $33.45. FIFA created an incentive program that says fans who buy two or more tickets to the Club World Cup 'may' be guaranteed the right to purchase one ticket to the World Cup next summer. Navarro said economic uncertainty and fears of inflation may make fans hesitant to spend their money on the Club World Cup — when the more desirable World Cup is looming. In some host cities, there's little sign the Club World Cup is happening. A light rail station in Seattle had a lone sign advertising the event. The Seattle Sounders are among the teams playing in the tournament. Hans Hobson, executive director of the Tennessee State Soccer Association, suggested part of the problem is that, unlike the national teams that play in the World Cup, some of the club teams playing in Nashville are just not known to U.S. fans. 'It's not leagues that they watch. If it was the Premier League or the Bundesliga or something like that, then they'd go, 'Oh, I know players there. Let's go check it out,' Hobson said. There were tickets available to LAFC's match against Esperance Sportive de Tunisie in Nashville on June 20 for $24.45. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has traveled to several host cities to gin up enthusiasm. He has promised "the world will be welcomed.' But some say the United States isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for visitors in the current climate. 'I could see trepidation for anyone looking to travel to the U.S. at this current political climate,' said Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsch. 'So it's a sad thing, I think, that we have to talk about visiting the U.S. in this way but I think everybody has to make decisions that are best for them and that fit best with what's going on in their life and their lifestyle.' AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker contributed to this report © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Mainichi
14 hours ago
- The Mainichi
All-time great wrestler Hakuho quits Japan Sumo Association with plans to form global body
TOKYO (AP) -- Hakuho, a retired "yokozuna" or grand champion and viewed by many as the sport's greatest wrestler, quit the Japan Sumo Association on Monday after an apparent falling out with the governing body of the ancient sport. The Mongolia-born Hakuho was earlier sanctioned by the Japan Sumo Association, accused of failing to control the behavior of a wrestler in his so-called stable, the term used for a training team headed by retired wrestlers. Hakuho's stable was closed a year ago. Japanese media reports say the wrestler in question engaged in physical violence. But closing a stable, instead of just punishing an individual wrestler, was unusual. He did not directly criticize the professional Japan Sumo Association, but he said wrestlers who had trained under him were treated unfairly. Hakuho, who was granted Japanese citizenship, said he had been in talks with the association but recently decided to quit because there was no hope of reopening his stable. His farewell and future "After 25 years of loving sumo and being loved by sumo, I want to advance toward a new dream," Hakuho told reporters Monday at a Tokyo hotel. Hakuho said he wants to create a body to govern sumo outside Japan -- the "world sumo project." "When I think of my situation, I think it's best to contribute to sumo from the outside," he said, wearing a dark suit and referring to the Japan Sumo Association. Appearing with a lawyer and other officials he had tapped for his team, Hakuho said they were getting corporate sponsors to back sumo grand slams, which draw amateur sumo wrestlers from around the world, including children and women. Hakuho said he was friends with Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda, who has expressed interest in supporting his efforts. Toyota already supports various amateur and professional sports activities. Many regard the Mongolia-born Hakuko as the greatest champion in the sport's history and he holds many of its records. Hahuko's late-father, who went by the given name of Monkhbat, was an Olympic silver medalist for Mongolia in 1968. He also competed in at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Sumo encompasses very strict rules and traditions that have prompted other top wrestlers to pursue careers outside the sport. Hahuko retired from active wrestling in 2021.
