Major 2 Consecutive Wins This Year..."Beware of the Southeast Asia Wave~"

'US Women's Open Champ' Filipino Saso and 'ANA Champ' Thai Tawatthanakit's Excitement "We're the Dark Horses of the Tokyo Olympics~"

‘ANA Champ’ Patty Tavatanakit (left) and ‘US Women’s Open Champ’ Yuka Saso are the main figures of the ‘Southeast Asia-born Typhoon’.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] The "Southeast Asian wave" is gaining momentum.

Recently, there have been "back-to-back major wins" on the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. "19-year-old non-member" Yuka Saso (Philippines) secured her first victory on the U.S. stage after an extended playoff against Nasa Hataoka (Japan) at the US Women's Open, a major LPGA Tour event held on the 7th (Korean time) at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California (par 71, 6,383 yards), with a total prize of $5.5 million. She is also confirmed to participate in the Tokyo Olympics this July as a Filipino athlete.

Saso has been a promising player sweeping the Asian women's golf scene since her junior days. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, she won gold medals in both the women's individual and team events. Turning professional in 2019, she earned two wins last year on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour. Her strengths include a fast and powerful swing, high-trajectory iron shots, and bold putting that often passes the hole, all backed by solid fundamentals and a confident mindset despite being only 20 years old.

Though small in stature, her driving distance is outstanding. At this year's US Women's Open, she averaged 279 yards on her drives. Park Sung-hyun (28), who was world number one in 2019, played three consecutive days against 17-year-old Saso at a Philippine Tour event. At her peak, Park expressed admiration, saying, "She hits the ball farther and stronger than I do." Her short game skills are also excellent, making her a potential dark horse against the Korean team aiming for a second consecutive Olympic gold.

Before the US Open, Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) drew attention at the season's first major, the ANA Inspiration, in April. With overwhelming performance powered by fearsome driving distance, she achieved her first career victory. Ranked 10th in the world, she is expected to represent Thailand at the Tokyo Olympics barring any surprises. Both Saso and Tavatanakit stand out as "young blood" in their early 20s. Saso was born in 2001, and Tavatanakit in 1999. They are likely to become strong competitors to Korea in the future.