U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 6, 2021

Yuka Saso

The Olympic Club

Flash Interview

Q. Yuka, congratulations. Some people have called this a life-changing win. How is it feeling for you right now?

YUKA SASO: I feel great, and I'm so thankful for everyone who's supporting me. Yeah, I'm thankful.

Q. Talk about the day out there today. Were you looking at the leaderboard much, and did you know where you stood?

YUKA SASO: For the first few holes I had two double bogeys, and I was actually a little upset. But my caddie talked to me and said, just keep on going; there's many more holes to go. That's what I did.

Q. How did you keep yourself so steady as you prepared for the playoff and those three holes?

YUKA SASO: Actually my stomach hurt a little after finishing up my 18 holes. After the two-hole playoff, I ate a banana and that made me feel better.

Q. You mentioned your caddie. Was there a shot or a hole during the regulation round where you really felt mentally that you turned things around and you felt good?

YUKA SASO: I'm not sure. Well, I think the bunker shot on 17 was pretty good.

Q. What do you hope this kind of reaction this has in the Philippines?

YUKA SASO: I don't know what's happening in the Philippines right now, but I'm just thankful that there's so many people in the Philippines cheering for me. I don't know how to thank them. They gave me so much energy. I want to say thank you to everyone.

Q. What did it mean to you to see the Filipino flags out there?

YUKA SASO: It felt great. There's so many people holding up Philippines flags, and it's really big. It made me really happy.

Q. You were down by five, you were at 3-under and Lexi was at 8-under, so you were down by five after the double bogeys. How did you calm yourself down?

YUKA SASO: (Answer given in Tagalog.)

(Translation: My caddie told me after the two double bogeys that there's many holes to go, so just keep your cool.)

Q. Olympics is next, right? I'm not sure the qualification, the cutoff dates. Thoughts about the Olympics? It's coming very soon. How will this help you gain the confidence and momentum for the Olympics?

YUKA SASO: (Answer given in Tagalog.)

Q. I've heard that you have a bit of an interesting fitness routine. Did that help you at this course given that it's so much elevation change?

YUKA SASO: My fitness training?

Q. Some people learned today that you wear a weighted vest and some weights. Do you think that helped you with the hilly course here?

YUKA SASO: Oh, I did that like a long time ago.

Q. When you put the trophy down, it looked like you were looking at the names almost as if you can't quite believe your name is going to be on there. What was going through your mind as you looked at the trophy?

YUKA SASO: Yeah, I was just looking at all the great players in here. Yeah, I can't believe my name is going to be here.

Q. With the win you're now eligible for LPGA membership. Are you planning to accept?

YUKA SASO: I just heard that. I'm going to talk to my dad, my family about it, and we are going to decide after.

Q. During the playoff, on the first playoff hole, when Nasa's putt rolled just short, you kicked your leg up almost as if hoping it would go in. You've talked about wanting everyone to play well. How do you continue to do that in a playoff for a major championship?

YUKA SASO: Well, I just don't want to be selfish. Everyone here is a great player. If it's their time, it's their time, if it's my time, it's my time. I just want to cheer everybody.

Q. Late last night I caught a video of you on the putting green. You were practicing late and there were no crowds. You were doing a hand gesture of it looked like a count or something when you were practicing. Can you tell me what you were doing?

YUKA SASO: I was just talking to myself, why did I miss that putt. I just kept putting on the same line and kept missing it, so I was like, why do I still miss it. Yeah, that was it.

Q. Now that you won on one of the biggest stages in the world, how do you think that will inspire the next generation of younger girls playing golf?

YUKA SASO: (Answer given in Japanese.)

Q. What did it mean to you when you saw Rory McIlroy's post on Instagram?

YUKA SASO: I saw it this morning, and I was like, ohhh. I should have reposted it but I was so busy this morning, so I'll do it later. I felt really happy.