Saso banners PH charge

Yuka Saso gets the chance to showcase her wares against a crack international field in pursuit of a second straight crown in the Champion Philippine Ladies Amateur Open which unwraps today at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Forbes Park.

Premium will be on shotmaking and putting with Saso tipped to lead the assault on the well-kept layout making its return as host of the country’s premier championship which drew a cast of 94 players, including 31 from Taiwan, six each from Singapore and the US, four from Korea, three each from Australia and Thailand and two from Japan.

The 17-year-old Saso spearheads the bid of the big 39-player local side out to extend its win run to four after Princess Superal broke Thailand’s threeyear reign with a victory at Tagaytay Midlands in 2016. Bianca Pagdanganan topped the 2017 edition at Wack Wack before Saso rallied to beat Mikha Fortuna by two at the Orchard last year.

campaign last year, the Lady Realtors ended the drought, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 16-14, against Generika-Ayala Saturday night.

American imports Casey Schoenlein and Molly Lohman led the way for the Lady Realtors, scoring 17 and 11 respectively. Skipper Pam Lastimosa was also a significant contributor with 10 points, including the clinching ace in the decider. In the first game, defending champs Petron Blaze will showcase dynamic duo Katherine Bell Stephanie Niemer against Rachel Anne Daquis and the rest of the PLDT Home Fibr.

Also looking to join the win column are last year’s runnerup F2 Logistics, which is coming back this season with reinforcements Lindsay Stalzer and Italian-American Becky Perry. The Cargo Movers will clash with the Cignal HD Spikers in the third and final game.