The Chevron Championship, the first women’s major of the season, experienced a historic conclusion this past night. For the first time, five players finished tied after 72 holes and had to compete for the title in an exciting playoff. Contrary to what might be expected in such a large tiebreaker, the final battle lasted just one hole, with Japanese player Mao Saigo making a birdie on the last flag of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course to claim victory. A very young player, who has only been on the circuit for a year, and had not yet won on the LPGA.
Saigo was born on 8 October 2001 in Funabashi, Chiba, in Japan. She started playing golf at the age of five, a passion she inherited from her father, whom she accompanied to the course. During her childhood, she looked up to Yuri Fudoh, a historic player of the LPGA of Japan, who won the circuit of her country six years in a row and was the first to surpass 100 million yen in earnings.
In 2019, the brilliant winner of the Chevron, conquered the Japan Women’s Amateur Championship. A year later, she turned professional, and in 2021 she achieved seven second places and fourth position on the Japanese tour’s money list. In 2022, she began her definitive breakthrough, winning five tournaments (three titles and two second places in her first six appearances of the year). After adding a sixth victory in 2023, she tried her luck at the American LPGA School…
She finished second in the Q-School, earning a card for 2024. In her rookie season on the tour, she began to showcase all her talent to the point of being chosen as Rookie of the Year, Louise Suggs Rolex award, of the LPGA Tour after making 24 out of 29 cuts, achieving seven top-10 finishes and two second places, at the CPKC Women’s Open and the Buick LPGA Shanghai. A season in which she earned more than 1.6 million dollars.
The previous performances in the Majors of the petite Japanese golfer, who stands just 1.59 metres tall, had already made it clear that she was a future major winner. She had finished in the top 10 in three of the five major women’s events, with a third place at the 2022 Evian Championship as her best result. Now, she joins the names of the other four Japanese players who had won a major, giving her country the only one it was missing (Ayaka Furue won the Evian Championship in 2024, Yuka Saso claimed victory twice at the US Women’s Open, Hinako Shibuno won the AIG Women’s Open in 2019, and nearly half a century ago, in 1977, Chako Higuchi had won the KPMG Women’s PGA).
Saigo, who studied at Nihon Wellness Sports University, northeast of Tokyo, chooses any of her short irons as her favourite clubs. Her best result as a professional in a single round is a 63, but yesterday a final round of 74 strokes was enough, playing intelligently on the 18th hole at The Woodlands to secure the title: ball to the fairway from the tee, second shot aiming for the advertising board under the stands, recovery from the rough, and birdie. That’s how she got into the playoff and resolved it against her four rivals.
“It was my dream to win a major. Being able to make it a reality and win this tournament makes me very happy,” she said. “Last year I was very close, and it was very disappointing. This year I finally managed to win and achieve a title on the LPGA, so I am extremely excited,” she added. A victory that traditionally involves a dip in the lake at the 18th hole, which Mao fulfilled… with conditions: “I was embarrassed to jump alone, so I invited others to jump with me. I’m not a good swimmer, and at first, I thought I was going to drown.”
For Saigo, “the decisive moment was the birdie on the 18th” and her great success is “the result of my hard work and that of my team.” Now, as a major winner, she confirms her intention to become a reference for her country: “I wanted to advance step by step and not put too much pressure on myself. My predecessors paved the way, but I also wanted to be true to myself.” And she looks to the future with great ambition… “There are still four more majors this year, and I want to aspire to be the Number One in the world,” she assures. Quite something for this young talent ready to revolutionise the American women’s circuit.
