Mao Saigo, the 23-year old from Japan who won the 2024 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award won her first-career major at the Chevron Championship in a playoff.
It is a bit difficult to concisely breakdown the chaotic finish to the 2025 Chevron Championship, played at the Club at Carlton Woods. The playoff included major champions Ariya Jutanugarn, Hyo Joo Kim and Ruoning Yin, plus two players looking for first-career victories in Lindy Duncan and Saigo.
Saigo got to the playoff despite some massive struggles on the day. She shot +2, bringing the leading score down from -9 to -7. She came in clutch when it mattered most though, making a putt of decent length for birdie on 18 to work her way into the mix.
Hyo Joo Kim got into the playoff doing what she does best, playing solid, not flashy golf. She hit all 13 fairways and had all pars from hole nine to the finish. She shot -2 for the day.
Lindy Duncan, at one point, looked to be in good position, but everything went wrong on hole 15, leading to back-to-back bogeys that set her back. She shot +1 for the day even though she had four birdies in regulation.
Ruoning Yin brought the flash with some terrific shot making down the stretch that led to a birdie on 18. At the time it didn’t seem that score would hold but her -1 round was good enough to keep her in contention.
Finally, we get to two-time major champion Ariya Jutanugarn. Jutanugarn looked poised to win on 18, sitting next to the par 5 green in two shots, holding a one-stroke lead. She duffed her chip though, not even advancing it much more than a yard. After a chip long, she missed her par putt, opening everyone up.
While Lindy Duncan effectively took herself out of the playoff with a poor third shot, everyone else seemed in play. Especially after Yin, the only one to hit the green in two, ran an eagle putt well past. Kim, Jutanugarn and Yin though all missed their birdie putts, clearing the way for Saigo to tap her short putt in for the win.
Saigo is the third player to win a major playing under the Japanese flag in the last five majors. Only two had ever done so previously.
