Mao Saigo Shares Her Journey as She Nears a Major Milestone in U.S. Women’s Golf
Mao Saigo is leading the U.S. Tour's Rookie of the Year competition. Sportswriter Kim Myeong-soo looks into the secret of her breakthrough.
The mystery behind the drastically changed atmosphere
The first great accomplishment in 34 years is just around the corner.
Mao Nishigo, 23, who will be competing on the U.S. Women’s Golf Tour (LPGA) this season, is showing impressive performance on the world’s most prestigious stage. She is currently in the lead in the “Rookie of the Year” competition, which is open to players in their first year on the LPGA Tour. If she were to win the Rookie of the Year award, she would be the first Japanese player to win the award in 34 years, since Hiromi Kobayashi (current president of the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association) in 1990.
With only four tournaments remaining this season, golfers are saying that Nishigo has a good chance of winning the title, and it is easy to see why, as she has finished in the top 10 seven times, including second place at the CPKC Women’s Open in July and at the Puig LPGA Shanghai in October. She is also the only player to finish in the top 10 at the Women’s LPGA Shanghai in October. Not only does she lead the Rookie of the Year competition, but she is also ninth in the overall Tour point ranking (as of October 29). His par-on-percentage of 75.9% ranks third among all players, and his iron shots are among the sharpest on the U.S. Tour.
Why is Xigo doing so well on the U.S. Tour?
I met Saigo for the first time in a while at the BMW Women’s Championship, a women’s tour event held in Korea, and noticed that she had changed her mood considerably compared to when she was in Japan. I was surprised to see how “talkative” she had become, especially during the post-match interview. I also got the impression that he had more smiles on his face. When I asked him if the water in his life here suited him, he said, “I think it does.
I think it suits me. I feel it is very rewarding. I want to compete on the LPGA for a long time. The level of players is the same, but I feel that players here are more committed to golf. I feel like everyone here has something “close” to me.
