Celebrating the resurgence of the championship! Mao Saigou Overcoming a major slump, “Segodon” became even stronger!
Last season, she won 5 out of 10 rounds from the start of the season, and from there she was unable to win at all for a year and a half.
On the 18th hole on the final day of the Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament on November 12, Mao Saigo (22) calmly sank the par putt that determined her sixth win in her professional career, and looked up to the heavens as if to say, “Finally. ……
Saigo is a first-year student at the golf academy run by Jumbo Ozaki, 76. In his third year as a professional, he won his first professional victory in March of last year and went on to win five times in the first half of the year alone. He was in the limelight as a prodigy, but then he suffered from a slump and was out of the championship for a year and a half.
Ikuyo Shiotani, a golf commentator, was the first to notice the change in Saigo.
“In the second half, I was too conscious of hitting a fade, my body movements were disjointed, and I couldn’t transmit power to the ball. It was far from my true ability. In the final round, I shot a total of 35 over. It was painful to watch from afar.
She was so mentally driven that she couldn’t even hold a club, but it was her mentor who saved her.
This spring, Jumbo told her, ‘You don’t have to stick to fades,’ and she reaffirmed the importance of balance in her swing and her torso. Saigo is a player who is described by Jumbo as having a ‘very high golf IQ. I am sure he will get even better from now on.
Segodon has finally made a full comeback.
From the December 1, 2023 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Jiji Press
