Yuka Saso Set to Defend U.S. Women's Open Title

KPMG Brand Ambassadors Stacy Lewis, Leona Maguire, and Yuka Saso are set to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

The 18-hole Donald Ross designed course is ranked in the Top 25 of Golfweek’s ‘Top 100 Courses in the USA’ and is the #4 course in North Carolina. Pine Needles is the first golf resort to be awarded four U.S. Women’s Open Championships, with the other three being played in 1996, 2001, and 2007.  

There is extra excitement for Team KPMG as Yuka Saso is looking to defend her title as Champion. Yuka defeated Nasa Hataoka in a thrilling aggregate-score playoff at The Olympic Club last year, becoming the first player from the Philippines to hoist the coveted Harton S. Semple Trophy. In her victory, she also tied Inbee Park as the youngest winner in U.S. Women's Open history, at 19 years, 11 months, and 17 days old. Saso tees off at 8:32am on Thursday and 1:47pm on Friday.

“I don't even know if I'm nervous or not,” Saso said. “But it feels awesome. At some point last year, they started calling me ‘champ’ or ‘U.S. Women's Open champ,’ not by my name.” When asked about Pine Needles, Saso commented, “It’s a great challenge for us all... [the] golf course is great, very beautiful, very difficult, especially the greens.”

This year marks the 16th U.S. Women's Open appeanance for Stacy Lewis. She has five top-15 finishes in the event, including a 2nd place finish in 2014. Lewis will tee off at 7:55am on Thursday and 1:40pm on Friday.

Leona Maguire will look to continue her strong season when she tees off at Pine Needles on Thursday. Maguire has three top-15 finishes this season, including her first LPGA victory at the LPGA Drive On Championship in February. She is currently 18th in the Race to CME Globe rankings. According to KPMG Performance Insights, she is 16th in Strokes Gained - Around the Green. Maguire tees off at 2:09pm on Thursday and 8:54am on Friday. 

Follow @KPMGgolf for updates on their performance in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Championship. Best of luck to Yuka, Stacy, and Leona!