2021 US Women's Open Champion Yuka Saso and fellow LPGA professional, Bianca Pagdanganan join us to discuss their year in golf, the experience of winning the US Women's Open, and representing their home country of the Philippines at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and meeting the PGA players at the Olympics - including Rory McIlroy. They also take some time to share their thoughts with us on how golf is growing in the Philippines and some of the things that could help grow the sport even more.
Yuka Saso takes us through her final round at the Olympic Club as she struggled to overcome a rough start before eventually finishing strong with birdies on the par 5 - 16th and 17th holes to finish in a tie with Nasa Hataoka. After 3 - Playoff holes, Yuka Saso emerged victorious and the Philippines had its first ever major golf champion. In a lighter moment, Yuka shares with us what was going through her mind as she was finishing the 72nd hole with a birdie putt to win.
Bianca shares her experiences on her year, discussing some of the high points and some of the challenges that she experienced. She also shares with us what her strategy will be as she prepares to attend the Q-Series at the end of the Season.
You won't want to miss this episode as the two players show a much more relaxed side of themselves now that they are off the course.
2021 US Women's Open Champion Yuka Saso and fellow LPGA professional, Bianca Pagdanganan join us to discuss their year in golf, the experience of winning the US Women's Open, and representing their home country of the Philippines at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and meeting the PGA players at the Olympics - including Rory McIlroy. They also take some time to share their thoughts with us on how golf is growing in the Philippines and some of the things that could help grow the sport even more.
Yuka Saso takes us through her final round at the Olympic Club as she struggled to overcome a rough start before eventually finishing strong with birdies on the par 5 - 16th and 17th holes to finish in a tie with Nasa Hataoka. After 3 - Playoff holes, Yuka Saso emerged victorious and the Philippines had its first ever major golf champion. In a lighter moment, Yuka shares with us what was going through her mind as she was finishing the 72nd hole with a birdie putt to win.
Bianca shares her experiences on her year, discussing some of the high points and some of the challenges that she experienced. She also shares with us what her strategy will be as she prepares to attend the Q-Series at the end of the Season.
You won't want to miss this episode as the two players show a much more relaxed side of themselves now that they are off the course.
Hello, and good afternoon. Welcome to our podcast show. We're talking golf. Our show is produced by the World Of Golf. And I'm your host Douglas Maida. Today's show is another in our series looking at Women's Professional Golf from around the world. In this series, we select a country that is often considered a non traditional golf market. We speak to professional players and aspiring professionals about how the sport of golf is changing in their home countries and their path to becoming a professional player. Now in case you're wondering, we use the term non traditional golf markets to mean the nations that are outside of the predominant English speaking countries of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. These are the countries that have a longer history with the sport. Now we recognize that the descriptor is growing a bit outdated as golf continues growing throughout the world, both as a competitive sport and recreational activity. Our focus in this episode is on the Philippines. And our guests are Yuka Saso, winner of the 2021 US Women's Open and Bianca Pagdanganan -- a professional player on the LPGA. Now before we get to them, we'll take a short break for a message from our producers.
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Amy (Studio):Today's show is being recorded from our studio in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. We are produced by the world of golf. You can find us on the worldwide web at www dot world of golf.org or on our social media channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now on LinkedIn. For those of you in Asia and elsewhere, you can also follow us on Weibo and WeChat. We are proud to announce that we're talking golf has been recognized as one of the top 40 PGA and LPGA golf podcasts to follow in 2021. Now, back to our show. Here is your host, Douglas Maida.
Douglas Maida:We're back thank you for staying with us. Now without further delay, let's get to our guests. Bianca Pagdanganan is a player on the LPGA Tour. She joined the LPGA in 2020 and this is still her rookie season. Her best finishes on tour include a solo third place at the 2020 LPGA drive on event held at Lake Reynolds, Georgia. She also had a tee nine that the 2020 KPMG women's PGA Championship this season. Some of her best finishes include a tie for 27th at the Shoprite classic that was held two weeks ago, and a tie for 12th at the DOW Great Lakes team event. Bianca is currently 175th in the Rolex world rankings and 124th in the LPGA's Race to the CME Globe. Bianca has also turned heads on tour with her length off the tee as she has finished either number one or number two in driving distance. Prior to joining the LPGA Bianca attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, before transferring to the University of Arizona, where she and the team won the 2018 National Championship. We'd like to give a big welcome back to Bianca.
Bianca Pagdanganan:I know, Thanks for having me.
Douglas Maida:Now Yuka Saso is also a rookie professional player on the LPGA joining the tour this season. Prior to joining the LPGA you could play it on the Japanese LPGA Tour where she won twice in back to back events. In addition, Yuka is the new champion of the United States Women's Open that was hosted earlier this year at the Olympic club in San Francisco. She also had a T4 finish at the Walmart event in Arkansas. And she's just coming off another T4 event this past week at the Cognizant founders cup. Yuka is currently fifth in the Rolex world rankings, and she's now 14th in the CME globe standings. So a big welcome to the show Yuka.
Yuka Saso:Thank you for having me.
Douglas Maida:Well, it's our pleasure, our pleasure. I'd like to start a little bit about Shoprite and the Founders Cup. You can you just came off a T4 at the Founders event. Any thoughts, any reflections on that event? I mean, it was the first time it was played at that course. And it's kind of a special event with as many of the Founders in attendance as possible, but what are your impressions and takeaways from that event?
Yuka Saso:Um, yeah, obviously, you know, meeting, um, you know, a few people from the 13-Founders, it was really great. And, you know, need to think about how, you know, how hard they work just to, you know, make the LPGA. And, you know, where LBJ came from, and, you know, I felt really thankful for what they've done. And, you know, because of them, I had, you know, a dream of becoming a golfer, and, you know, me being able to play and, you know, tour now is just amazing.
Douglas Maida:And what about your reflection on the play and your tee for finish? I mean, what did you think of the course? What did you think of the competition at this event?
Yuka Saso:Yeah, obviously, the golf course is a beauty. You know, I think everyone said that the golf course is good for major championships too. It is kind of similar to Olympic Golf Club that we played in for years when I was open. Yeah, it was very long, long, rough, big greens. Yeah, it was very nice and very challenging.
Douglas Maida:Great. And Bianca, let's ask about your finish at the Shoprite Classic a couple of weeks ago, that was the last time you competed on tour, did you have any thoughts and recollections that you'd like to share?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I mean, the courses a different setting, I feel like it was more of a links type something we don't really play that often out here, especially in the US. But I did think it was a lot of fun. It was kind of a different golf course when the wind would pick up, but I mean, I wasn't able to play that event last year. So this year was my first time playing it but I did have a lot of fun. I enjoyed it just because like there were also so many Filipinos that came out and you know, supported us and kind of -- It felt nice, you know, they were kind of telling us that there was Filipino food close by and I was kind of shocked. So kind of took advantage of that. But yeah, overall it was a really great experience I enjoyed Shoprite was kind of bummed I didn't get into Founders because I played them one day and I really really enjoyed the course and like what you said, I think it's it has the potential to become a major championship golf course.
Douglas Maida:You mentioned about all the Filipinos and Filipino food at Shoprite I was gonna as an aside, I read somewhere that Jollibee's is is doing an expansion in North America was there a Jollibee's is in that location are they not quite there yet?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I'm not quite there Yes. Yeah, I know there isn't somewhere up and close to Jersey City I'm kidding. I'm not sure but I know there's one in New Jersey.
Douglas Maida:Okay. Bianca let's continue on we're more or less a couple events left in the season. So how would you at this point in time rate or assess your season so far? I mean, what has been the highlight of your LPGA season and you know, you've obviously had some goals for this year how would you look at that and rate your season so far?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I mean, overall, my season was just a lot of ups and downs I feel like I've had good rounds you know, probably not good enough to get myself into the position that I wanted but I guess it's just part of the whole process. I mean, you know, I try to look back at this whole year and compare it to what I probably did different last year when I played much better and I think there was just like a lot of internal pressure trying to keep up with the same standard of play that I did last year which I don't think help you know, obviously when I look back I think and tell myself that you know, I wish I could have made the most out of the tournaments that I got into but like I said, You know, I feel like it is what it is and I just got to learn from what I did try not to put too much pressure on myself and force things to happen. But I mean with highlights I played some good rounds, I'd say Shoprite was . . . I was honestly surprised with how I played last week just because links style of golf isn't really the easiest i would say i mean it was it wasn't like completely links style course. But or maybe it was, I don't take my word on that but, yeah, overall, I was kind of surprised that that was like one of the events or the event that I played well in considering the fact that I would say that that's not like one of my strengths, but yeah, looking forward I'm going to try them on Monday qualify for the Pelican (event) in November. And yeah, I guess just focus on q series, at least, I know more things now heading into Q-Series, and I did two years ago. So yeah, I'm just gonna keep practicing and try to get myself in a good position for good status next year.
Douglas Maida:You mentioned about having the experience now and the benefit of having played a little bit now on tour. Pulling by the calendar, this is your second season on tour. But, you know, because of COVID, the LPGA has decided to compress 2020 and 2021 into one season for rookies. If you are going to be playing in the Q-Series, what do you think you have learned that you will apply differently going into it this year?
Bianca Pagdanganan:It's a side note. So going into Q-Series, the first time I went I honestly like heading into Q-School, I had no idea what was going on. Obviously, I knew that I had to play good golf, but heading into Q-Series. So they tell you that they give you your tour card once you get into the top 45 and ties. And that's like all I knew. But I didn't know that. Like, I should have asked more questions, I guess was on me. But I didn't know that where you finish like that set, or that kind of tells you where you're at in the priority list. So I guess like heading into that I have a goal as to where I should be when I finished Q-Series. But now that i've you know played a season on the LPGA Tour, I feel like that's definitely helped my game, especially in terms of like how competitive it can get just seeing like how others play on tour. And I mean, obviously, I'm going to be seeing like a couple familiar faces on Q-Series. So obviously just trying to focus on my game and trying to make the most out of eight rounds of golf.
Douglas Maida:Yeah, it's gonna be a fairly packed two weeks for Q-Series, it's fairly intensive. And unlike playing a tour events, you don't really have any time off, you got just the one day in between. So, any strategies as to how you're going to cope with that in terms of fatigue and getting tired and staying mentally sharp?
Bianca Pagdanganan:It's kind of funny, because the first year I played it, I remember that I only had like, two days in between second and third stage. So that was like four weeks of straight goal from what I remember, like I had a day to fly to North Carolina from Florida. And I was kind of in shock, how things were set up because you played four or like, there were three days of practice four days of tournament, and then another three days to practice the other course and another four days. So it was definitely a lot of golf. But I do feel like the last couple weeks that we've played it, you know, tournaments are pretty close, like a lot of a lot of them are back to back, like flying into. I think I don't see I don't even remember what the tournament before Shoprite, I think, or I don't know, but, you know, I still think that I've experienced something similar with, you know, how close the four or the eight days are going to be, at least, you know, it wouldn't be a complete shock to me with how many days of like extreme, mentally, physically exhausting rounds of golf I'll be having just because I feel like I've had that sometime this year. But of course, like, I definitely have some goals, I'm still going to try to work on trying to be in tip top shape by the time key series comes. So yeah, we're just gonna see how I'll be working on it for the next couple of weeks, but definitely a lot of golfing and practicing and working on other parts of my game.
Douglas Maida:Well, speaking of that, what parts of your game are you going to be focusing on? I mean, I've done a little bit of homework, and I mean your driving distance, obviously, that's something that you're -- you've made a really good name for yourself, because everybody looks to see you being up near the top of the stats in terms of your driving distance. I was gonna say you're putting average this year, You're so far is+0.89 strokes higher than 2020. And that kind of jumped out as a bit of an area for you that maybe was a bit of a challenge compared to last year. Is that an area that you've been paying particular attention to? Or are you approaching the next couple of weeks in your practice focusing on that or is there something else that you're thinking about?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I mean, obviously party putting is such an important part of my game. I did start you know, seeing someone for putting and obviously like earlier this year it was a bit of a struggle, but I feel like the last couple events. I personally felt like my putting helped me out so much just like looking at my stats I wouldn't say like the whole year but the last couple of weeks but I I personally thought that there was like a huge improvement. And I really felt good about my putting for some reason that was like the part of my game for the last couple tournaments that I played that I felt good about. And it was nice because I it, it was something that I haven't really felt in a while. So just, you know, knowing that I have confidence in that part of my game, like kind of helps me it was like my, you know, self esteem, and just how I view my own game, but definitely, like some things I really want to work on are like, trying to save pars, like scrambling. And I mean, I get a lot of input from my dad and my coach, they just tell me what I need to work on. And that's what I try to do. I mean, obviously, you know, distance is like, an advantage or like a strong part of my game. But if you know, I like miss Greens or whatsoever, I need to, like work hard, and just try my best to convert those into like, par saves. So I guess that's, you know, around the green short game, or some of the things I'd be working on.
Douglas Maida:Right? And you look at somebody like Inbee Park. I mean, you've played with her. You seen her out there. I don't know if you've actually been paired with her. But you know, she's, yeah, she's not overly long off the tee. But she finds her greens, and she puts Yeah, and, and it's just amazing. And, you know, with her game, she's always, you know, she's fairly, you know, relatively or consistently in competition and competing. So it's a -- yeah, it's a more than one way to play this game, I guess. And you made the point about that.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yeah, she also is that the best putter. I played her there once last year at KPMG. And I was like, just kind of in shock -- my jaw just like dropped, like she hits the green. And she makes a putt. And I'm like, that was easy. But yeah, it was it was a pretty cool experience, being paired with Inbee. And just seeing how, like you said, you know, there are other ways to play the game.
Douglas Maida:Right? And if you look at it, I mean, the stats this year, with the KPMG Insights, statistics coming out now, even though it hasn't been a full season, there's been enough rounds played now where you can get a bit of an idea of consistency with regards to the statistics. And you look at Inbee and her numbers on putting it's better than anything on the men's tour by far. You know, so I think that's a bit of a . . . How would you say a feather in the cap of women's golf? Because, you know for whatever reason, I think it's important that at least the women are starting to get some attention for the skills that come into it, because you know, too often, it's too easy to just dismiss it. But now that you've got some statistics starting to back it up. I think a lot of people were genuinely, genuinely surprised that MB was her stop shoulder as the best putter, period, male or female.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yeah, I did read something about that. And I was really surprised. It's like, she makes more 10 to 15 footers than the guys on tour who make five to 10 feet, or something like that. I don't know if I said that correctly. But it was something like that. It was really interesting. That's why you know, it's fun to watch women's golf. You see players like her and you're just like, dang. Yeah, just plugging it out there support the LPGA
Douglas Maida:Well, you know, some of the best tour action to watch this year has been on the LPGA, really, to be honest. I mean, and we're going to talk with Yuka in a little bit about that. But that Sunday final event in Olympic Club and, and I saw you on TV, too there Bianca following along with the with the crowd outside the ropes. So you were there and we saw you with your flag and whatnot, or was a flag to cheering her on. So
Bianca Pagdanganan:I was nervous watching her. I was like shaking. I was like, I know she can make it but like, oh my gosh.
Douglas Maida:Yeah. So you know, there's been some really good exciting golf played on the LPGA Tour this year. And there is every year, but this year, I thought was particularly even more so. A lot of drama. And I think that's good for golf -- period. I wanted to ask you this question before I switch over to Yuka, Bianca, we talked a little bit about your, your driving distance, would you trade a little bit of your distance for better putting.
Bianca Pagdanganan:That's a hard thing because like my distance is a huge advantage. off the tee -- kind of sucks because like sometimes, like I pay attention to stats, I know my caddy does it. Like I woke up to my ball and I'm like on the first cut and I miss the fairway by an inch and I'm like, that's not a fairway hit and it sucks. I look at him like dang another missed fairway. And it's not like it completely hooked the ball or like slicing or hitting the roof. But, um, I don't know, it's kind of a hard question. Obviously, like I'd want to be better in putting but at the same time, I mean, you know,"drive for show, putt for dough", but it's hard to give up something that has such a huge impact on my game. like okay, maybe just a little probably like three yards.
Douglas Maida:Just three yards? Okay, so instead of finishing first or second and distance, you'd be willing to finish fifth, if you could improve the putting.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Maybe a little, I guess, all right, you know? Or you could just have better putting in the distance if I just work harder.
Douglas Maida:Right, right. Statistically, how was your game this year with regards to proximity to the hole?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Proximity to the whole, I see that the same I can kind of notice starting the year, I did have like a different set of clubs. I'm just like, in disbelief, whatever, what's what, sir. But, um, that's when I kind of noticed that, like, there was a different effect of my ball just in terms of the spin rate. And, okay, I don't really get too technical when I play. That's not my thing at all feel. But I did notice that. And with me being like an aggressive player, I feel like that kind of affected my games. I feel like I was missing more greens, because it wasn't the same as my last clubs. I did go back to my old irons, which I think was a really good move for me, because you know what they say if it ain't broke, don't -- don't fix it, if it ain't broke something like that. But I guess proximity to the hole. That's definitely something I could work on, especially my wedges, especially if I had a really good drive. And I have like, a couple of yards in and like, I should be hitting this close, which I do for the most part. But, again, something I could work on.
Douglas Maida:Right, right. Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, that's golf, you can always find something to work on.
Bianca Pagdanganan:For sure. Yeah. Um,
Douglas Maida:So let's switch to you. Yuka. Is it safe to say Yuka that winning the US Women's Open has been the highlight of your LPGA season?
Yuka Saso:Yeah, I guess so. But, um, you know, I think you know, being a member, of LPGA is one of them, too. I think it's a highlight too. And also, you know, a very special meeting Rory (McIlroy), and to talk to him. I think that's one of the highlights, too. So a lot of highlights for me this year.
Douglas Maida:Yeah, no kidding. How much of a surprise was that-- That he messaged you back? I mean, I remember at the event, you were talking about how surprised you were that he, he messaged you back and whatnot, but I mean, -- do you still feel like you can't believe it happened?
Yuka Saso:Um, actually, you know, before the US Women's Open started, we were already planning to go down to San Diego and watch the US Open before we fly to KPMG. And, you know, I thought maybe, you know, I can meet Rory there and, you know, after two days of my tournament, or three day, or you know, mentioned me on Instagram, which is, you know, very special -- it was very special. And, you know, I felt very lucky. And I was like, hopefully I can meet him and you know, in Torrey Pines, and you know, I won. And now I was able to walk with him inside inside the ropes which, you know, very kind of him and he gave me a few advice too.
Douglas Maida:And some of the advice as you pointed out was just going to remain between you and Rory.
Yuka Saso:Yeah.
Douglas Maida:How was it walking? At the men's event? Did you notice anything really different between the events? Well, obviously you're not playing so you're not in that competitive frame of mind, but like that, was it? You know, it must have been fun?
Yuka Saso:The guys are big. Like they're huge. They're tall. I went to driver engines. See the guys hits? I watched Phil Mickelson. Jon Rahm, Henrik Stenson they're just you know, smashing it -- it's so different from you know, women's tour, but it's amazing to see that. Their golf is a little bit different from ours. So yeah, I've learned a lot too.
Douglas Maida:When you were walking the course with Rory, Did you, being the competitive player that you are, did you start thinking about where you would hit your shots and and how to approach greens too? As you're walking or were you just.. .
Yuka Saso:I actually actually talked to Rory's caddie Harry and I asked you know, Rory's stock yardages and you know he hits it pretty long so you know me if I had like 150 years you know 140 to the fog I'll be having nine radar and then Rory would have what? So, you know, it's, like I said, it's really a different golf to us. But you know the thing you know to have if you can hit it long, like Bianca does and it makes golf much easier. I Agree, it doesn't mean that you hit it long, you're gonna make score but you know hit it long drive and having you know a short club in your hand going to the green, you know higher chance of getting it to the . . . getting it close to the hole so yeah like those kind of those kind of stuff you know makes me realize that you know having a distance is very important.
Douglas Maida:Right. Well that kind of brings us to the US Women's Open the Sunday on the last day it looked like you were a little bit had a little bit of nerves off the first few holes there just being in the group with Lexi and whatnot and kind of getting off to a good start and wanting to play well and whatnot. And it was kind of like you're in between there I mean, this is my take on it was that you seem to your drives a little bit not quite on the fairway you're a little bit, putting yourself in some difficult positions for making your second shots and whatnot. But I'll tell you, watching you around the greens, and I think this speaks to Bianca's point about being focusing on on the play around the greens, is you know I was watching it as like your ability to get up and down was just crazy that day.
Yuka Saso:Yeah it was, wasn't it.
Douglas Maida:I was making mental notes and I'm like how many times is Yuka going to be able to do this? It was just a phenomenal performance around the greens.
Yuka Saso:Yeah you know first I mean first hole was I was pretty calm but, you know going into second hole, third hole which you know makes the fairway a little narrower, I think that you know, I was I felt a little bit of you know, nervous But yeah, I think that cost me you know, hit it to the rough but yeah, I think after a few hawks like my caddie, Lionel, talked to me and said you know, there's you know, lots of holes left and you know, try to get back you know, onto the game and focus on what I have to do now -- shot by shot now i think that you know, relaxed me a bit and made me focus on you know, what I had to do -- focus on my routine and so I think you know, I think that help with my approach shot.
Douglas Maida:It came to the back nine you were a couple of strokes behind Lexi. Lexi was still leading at that point, but there were some other players putting up some good numbers and making a charge obviously, Nasa had come out of, I won't say nowhere, because she wasn't too far back, but she put together a really good round. What are your thoughts when you were on 11, and you bogeyed 11, but then Lexi made a double was there something going through your mind? Like you know what, that you know, even though you made a bogey you still got to she made you made up a stroke honor or what was going through your mind that way -- Anything in particular, or just focus completely on your own game?
Yuka Saso:Yeah, I'm like, right after I had a two double bogey, so on second and third hole. It was more about you know, trying to finish good. You're trying to play good golf, and not to, you know, keep, you know, playing not so good. till the end. I think, yeah, like my cat, he said, you know, trying to get back on what I have to do take a shot by shot. And I kind of knew that, you know, I was very far from Lexi after, you know, first nine, and there's some players playing good. So I wasn't really paying attention to, you know, to the leaderboard, or to Lexi, to other persons, it was really more just about me, myself. Now check. You know, I was just, you know, happy that I was there to be able to experience those stuff, you know, playing in the, you know, last group. So, yeah, I wasn't really not thinking about what I had to do to win or it was just, you know, me playing golf.
Douglas Maida:Right, right. I want to ask you another sort of similar question. Lexi, on the back nine, you're on the 14th. And Lexi dropped another shot on the 14th. And you had made some pars and whatnot. You find yourself coming into the 17th and 18th. You had a you know, you could have had a, you didn't get a chance to birdied the 16th. So you had two holes left, and you're needing some birdies while hoping Lexi would drop some shots. At this point Nasa's not in the clubhouse yet with her with her score yet so that was still a bit of a variable at that point in your mind did you and your caddy have a little chat about just saying hey two holes left let's just go out and do the best you can to make some birdies Are we still kind of playing hey this is Olympic Club, I can't afford to you know get off or go to wild here because you know that's really penal rough or what kind of what was going through your mind that way Yuka? [ correction -- the 17th and 18th should have been referenced as the 16th and 17th]
Yuka Saso:After 14 or 13, I was kind of thinking of the last two par fives -- 16 and 17 and thinking you know I need two birdies on you know that to par fives for me to you know play good and finish good. And I was able to do that and on the last hole weren't really thinking about it. Yeah, like we were just thinking about how to, you know, make a good score. And that was really it. We weren't really thinking about anything else.
Douglas Maida:So when you came to 18, I think by that time Lexi had unfortunately for her, dropped a few more shots and was now playing a little bit of catch up. Nasa was in the clubhouse she had the low score low score for the tournament. What were you thinking when you were playing 18th say in the fairway Did you know at that point or were you just focusing on finishing your hole and trying to put a good score on for that hole?
Yuka Saso:Yeah, um, yeah, I was just trying to you know, get a good score and and see it from there.
Douglas Maida:Okay, and then you put out on 18. When did you find out that you had a chance to win the US Open? Did you know what. . .
Yuka Saso:On the last hole., yes, the green. The leaderboard's big I can't you know, no one can miss it.
Douglas Maida:And plus, there was a huge crowd of Filipinos around the green. . All cheering you on so
Yuka Saso:Yeah and Bianca too, so I kind of knew.
Douglas Maida:What was going through your thought process with that putt? Because if you had a sunk that one putt, you would have won outright. And you only need you had two pots to force a play off one putt to win.
Yuka Saso:So it was kind of 50-50. I said this in my interview too, that my stomach hurt a little bit. I mean, yeah, my stomach hurt, like pretty bad. And I really really need to go to the toilet. And then um, so um, yeah, I was thinking about you know, I have to make I want to make this work, but at the same time, I just want to finish and go to the restroom. So yeah, I was kind of 50-50
Douglas Maida:Okay, so you two putted, you're in a playoff with Nasa. Obviously you probably went to the washroom in between going back to the 18th again. What was your strategy or thought -- did you and your caddy have a strategy going back to the 18th for the playoff hole?
Yuka Saso:First i thought we're only gonna play like like hole by hole -- I didn't know that we had to do two holes and then sudden-death like how to say it. Yeah so we have to you have to play two holes and then the total score of two holes will determine the champion or if not, then we're gonna go extra holes. I didn't know that and when the rules official announced or like told us that we had to play two holes, not much fun, actually we just you know, stick to the plan on what we did in the last few hours. You know, trying to make a good score and see from there.
Douglas Maida:And then it came to 18 and you had the chance to win and Nasa's shot came up a little bit short. Were you feeling any of the jitters then? Or were you feeling a little bit of excitement? Or were you just trying to stay focused and say-- look, I just got to make my pot and play my game and I can't get overly excited here.
Yuka Saso:So we started our first playoff on 9, and then come back to the 18th, and so I went to the toilet before we started the playoff, but we use the how to call it like the not the real toilet, but just like the extra ones.
Bianca Pagdanganan:The porta-potty.
Yuka Saso:So I use that and like it didn't really feel good yeah. So after the like, when the first two whole playoff I wasn't really very comfortable with my stomach and like it was it was not 100% healthy. And then so um, yeah, it was it was 50-50 on my first two holes of play off. It's like, play good, but at the same time, you know, I want to go to toilet. And then after the two holes, we went to the nineth hole again. And then my caddie suggested, why don't you you know, eat banana and see if it can help. And I ate half. And once we get to the fairway, my stomach felt good, like really good. It was like, it was gone. And this feels good. And I hit a good shot coming into the green, and holed the putt.
Douglas Maida:So you were able to just keep things level headed and didn't get too far ahead of yourself. Yeah. So when the pot went in, What went through your mind?
Yuka Saso:What went wrong? I was like, haha, it's finally done. I finally did it. Yeah, just that.
Douglas Maida:Finally did what you finished or that you won?
Yuka Saso:Finished the tournament. And I wanted to know this. So first, tournament, and then when I raised my hand, it was like "I won".
Douglas Maida:Let me ask you this. Now, after the US Open, you must have had. I know you had a lot of requests for interviews and all sorts of things like that. I mean, how busy was it for you after the US Open? And how hectic was it for a couple of weeks? Were you super busy for two weeks, a week?
Yuka Saso:I was busy maybe for two days or three. And that was really it. The USGA and LPGA did a great job because I didn't have an agent. But they handled the media so well, for me. They just took care of me. So I wasn't really that busy. Um, yeah, it was, I enjoyed it, you know, and it was not that bad. It was pretty good.
Douglas Maida:Oh, good. Good. And, you know, you obviously made big waves both in Japan and in the Philippines with the win. So we are getting a lot of text messages or a lot of people from home.
Yuka Saso:Yeah.
Douglas Maida:Back in Japan and the Philippines calling you or message
Yuka Saso:Yeah, after winning the open. Yes, windows open. You know, my followers and Instagram went like, I don't know, like, went like crazy. And a lot of people messaging me I wasn't really able to, you know, reply to every one of them. But I was very thankful for, you know, all the attention and, you know, essages that they sent me. You now, yeah, I wasn't really xpecting it, but it felt really ood.
Douglas Maida:Oh, good. One more quick question before we take a break for a commercial. Looking back on it now -- how's your thoughts been now? I mean, did it feel really what we call surreal at the time, like, you just couldn't believe it happened?
Yuka Saso:I didn't really look back on how I did it. It actually is something pretty fast. Now, winning the tournament, maybe for a couple, you know, hours. I was a little bit of, you know, maybe couldn't believe it. But after you know, receiving the trophy, and, you know, talking to you know, Rory and a lot of, you know, people for me, USGA, kind of sunk in and, you know, it really felt good that I won the tournament of that I dreamt and yeah, like, I've never, haven't really looked back on, you know, how I felt or, you know, looking back to how I played, you know, because maybe if I did, maybe I'll look back on the second day or third day when I played really good golf, but not really on the last day because I kind of screwed up on the first few hours.
Douglas Maida:But all's well that ends well.
Yuka Saso:You know, it's not how you start. It's how you finish.
Douglas Maida:Okay, thank you. We're going to take a short break for commercial and when we come back, we're going to chat a little bit about both of your experiences at the Tokyo Olympics. And then we're going to chat a little bit about Women's Professional Golf in the Philippines, and women's golf in general in the Philippines.
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Douglas Maida:We're back. Thank you for staying with us. Now, Yuka and Bianca let's chat a little bit about the Tokyo Olympics. Both of your first times playing in the Olympics. So how would you describe the experience of playing in the Olympic Games? And what would it meant to be? Well, I'll leave the second question. I'll come back. So what was it like for the experience of playing the Olympic Games? Do you want to lead it off? Bianca?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Sure. Um, obviously like the Olympics is I feel like every athletes dream of playing. But I think it was like a different circumstance for me. I don't know about Yuka. Just because golf was only brought back in 2016. So obviously growing up was like, oh, hopefully one day they bring it back because you know, it'd be so cool because you I used to watch it on TV. Like I used to watch other sports. And I was like, must be so nice being able to play in the Olympics. So when they finally brought it back in 2016, I, I was in college. Yeah, I was in college, I was like, Oh, that's so cool. I hope that one day I get to play and I didn't think it would come too soon. But it was such a great experience. I actually flew in a little bit earlier. So I was there the week that the guys were playing so I just wanted to like watch a little bit of golf and just be able to watch these guys play up close. I think that was such a pretty cool experience. It's something that doesn't happen a lot of the time like you're you you guys are like in the same club house you're like up close and personal with these like PGA players. So that was pretty cool. But yeah, like representing the Philippines in the Olympics, you know, something I've something I've once dreamt of was definitely one for the books, like probably one of the highlights of my career I'd say. It was kind of weird not having people around. But there were a lot of volunteers and they were all very like pleasant. And it was fun to have at least like some people out there clapping for us, like on the first tee or just you know, seeing them on some of the holes. So yeah, it was a really, really fun experience. Even if it was like, kind of hot up there.
Douglas Maida:Yeah, we've all heard that it was unusually hot for Tokyo that time of the year.
Bianca Pagdanganan:I guess so .. . I thought I was gonna be used to like humidity and heat just because growing up in the Philippines, you know, I've had all that and then I get there and I'm just like, why does it feel like it's so much hotter? It was weird, but like we got through the tournament. I don't know what it was. But I watched like three holes when the guys were playing and I just like walked back to the clubhouse because I was like dripping in sweat. And I was like, This never happens to me. So yeah, and I was able to watch the players that I wanted to play. So I was like, Oh my goodness. Wow.
Douglas Maida:What were your thoughts about watching them?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I was starstruck, like hardcore. So I was like watching Rory, and I watched him hit a tee shot and I was like, Oh my gosh, he's like, I was like, he's right there. Because there was no one watching and we were allowed to, you know, walk the course so he was so close and I was just like I could watch a PGA Tour and I would never be this close to any of the players. So I watched Rory; I watched Colin Morikawa. I'm like a huge fan ball striking, amazing. Him making bars from like, the rough in Japan -- hands down like I was like low-key fangirling over in Japan, kinda embarrassing to say whatever but it is what it is. But Yeah, you know, like what you mentioned earlier, I feel like it's a different ballgame. It's a different kind of golf and you're watching these guys rip it like 300 yards. How sad is that? It's it's just really fun to watch and like, obviously, you know what they show on TV. They're always like the good shots. And, of course, like I came across some, like not so great shots. And that just, I wouldn't say that, like, it made me feel better, but it made me feel more normal. Like, you know, even the top players in the world make mistakes, only differences, they can bounce back from their mistakes, and they're able to generate pars and save them. So that's like one thing that I'm really really working hard on. So yeah, learning experience. Tokyo -- it was fun.
Douglas Maida:Did Rory recognize you?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Not me, and definitely Yuka! I was like, I was sitting outside the clubhouse. And I was just like, it's right. It's our look. And he was walking because tournament got suspended, or they had to go back to the clubhouse because of the rain. And then when they were heading back, like I think Yuka was like, good luck, Rory. And I was like, dang, they're like besties now. Like, must be nice. I did. I did have a selfie with Rory. So cool. Cool. I forgot how to talk for like five seconds. I was like, cheesy worried. I was like, what was I gonna say? What was I gonna say? And then he was like, looking like she gonna say something. And I was like, Can I have a selfie with you? And he's like, Yeah, sure.
Douglas Maida:So Yuka, you can. . . Bianca says your besties now with Rory.
Yuka Saso:Not, but when I watched Rory and like I went there early, too. So I've watched Rory hold for days. So yeah, when I went off to watch him, he came out and said hi to me, so it's pretty. Yeah, it was pretty good. So kind of him,
Douglas Maida:What was your experience playing the Olympics? Was it? Well, let me ask you this both, and you can lead Yuka, you both represented the Philippines at the Asian Games. And Bianca, you did an additional year with the Southeast Asian Games. How different was the Olympics? Was it a big difference for you in representing the Philippines and competing? I guess it would be at the Olympics. I mean, it's the best of the best. So but what were your thoughts and on the experience Yuka?
Yuka Saso:Um, a little bit of a little bit different from Bianca. I wasn't really watching Olympics growing up. I was more into golf majors. Like US Women's open British Open, you know, PGA Championship and now ANA and yeah, everything else. So yeah, you know, I mean, it wasn't really, in my dream or goals to be playing Olympics because I thought it was kind of impossible. Yeah, cuz there was not no golf. Even when I, you know, watch the 2016 Olympics in Rio. I wasn't really not -- I was interested. But I was, I was not very focused on an Olympics, but you know, to be able to play and, you know, qualify for it, it was very good experience. And, you know, it was a lot of fun, you know, meeting a lot of new players from other countries playing same course with the men's. Yeah, definitely, you know, learned a lot and a lot of things to work on.
Douglas Maida:So what's your favorite experience from playing in the Tokyo Olympics?
Yuka Saso:I think play or seeing . . .
Bianca Pagdanganan:Meeting Rory? The second time around.
Douglas Maida:And how about you, Bianca, and yeah, what was your favorite memory of the Olympics?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Oh, favorite memory of the Olympics?
Yuka Saso:Meeting the guys.
Bianca Pagdanganan:I'm seeing the guys. No, I think it was just really cool. Being able to like, be in the driving range, hitting at the same time as well. I wouldn't say the same times. But like when they were out, that's when we could practice just so we wouldn't really occupy the space. But it was just like a cool experience. It's like you're in the same tournament like, I don't know how to explain it just like you guys are using like the same putting range, in the same driving range and you're all just like in the ropes. It was. That was pretty cool, but to me, it's awesome. Representing the Philippines is always a pleasure really such an honor, you know, to be able to do that not a lot of people are blessed to have that opportunity, you know, playing for your country. I'm not just talking about the Olympics, but like, like, as you said, you know, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games, it's just like, I don't know, you just carry a lot of pride for your country. And, you know, hear this all the time, you know, we play for something bigger than ourselves. And it's, it was really just an amazing experience overall, that, you know, you're you're just always gonna have that your people are always telling you this, and they're like, oh, you're forever going to be an lympian. Like, that's pret y cool to hear. Like, I sti l haven't processed that. B t yeah, it's obviously somethi g I'll never forget, especial y with that being my first. Oka
Douglas Maida:Let's switch gears a little bit here. And let's focus on women's golf in the Philippines. I don't think it comes as a surprise to both of you that you two are probably along with Dottie, who's having a great season so far this year, are the most popular golfers in in the Philippines. And I'm getting a lot of feedback from friends I do have in the Philippines were telling me that the amount of traffic on the golf courses and has just skyrocketed in the last year to two years. Just because of all the excitement, you know, Bianca last year at the KPMG. And then following it up at Lake Reynolds. And then Yuka -- you kind of took it into the next level after, after Olympic club. I mean, they're just all going crazy and support and people just running to the golf courses and booking up tee times. I have one friend who's told me that she used to be able to go to the golf course and she'd get a tee time just by showing up. Now she has to book it weeks in advance just to get a tee time. Why don't you-- let me ask you this? What was it like Bianca, for you growing up in the Philippines playing golf? I mean, just how would you describe it?
Bianca Pagdanganan:It was hard, especially like going to regular school and trying to balance it out with golf. It was really tough. But at the same time, you know, I'm glad that I went But yeah, it was kind of hard, just trying to balance through that experience just trying to manage my own time wisely or learning that at a young age. But it was really tough because growing up I mean, it wasn't. I had friends everything out. I mean, looking at it now there's just so much involved. But like, obviously, it wasn't like the most popular sport. So growing up, most of the people I played with were just boys my age are much older than me. I didn't really have a lot of girlfriends. So every time I like saw a new girl -- in my head, I'd be like, "I hope she like continues playin so there's like someone else I can talk to more opportunities. I think with you know, the fact that we're trying to grow the game with you know, how we're playing on tour, try inspire younger girls, I think it's nice that more people are picking up the sport. Um, but yeah, I think definitely looking back, golfers now have definitely more opportunities than what we had in the past, which is great, because obviously, you want things to get better for the next generation of people that you know, just want to play any kind of sport in general.
Douglas Maida:Right. How about you Yuka? Was it . . . What was your experience like growing up in the Philippines playing golf?
Yuka Saso:Um, for me, it was pretty easy compared to Bianca I guess because I didn't really go to school, like regular school. I was home schooled my whole life. So basically, I just, you know, wake up, go to golf course and then come back, and study a little bit, and sleep , then repeat.
Bianca Pagdanganan:That was a scheduled -- sleep, golf, School.
Yuka Saso:Um, but yeah, I think Philippine has, you know, no golf courses for juniors to practice on. Compared to, because I'm half . . . compared to Japan. I think they're more friendly for junior golfers and more supportive on the golf course. But I think we lack a little bit of support. And, you know, for amateur golfers to be able to play in, you know, bigger tournaments and, you know, outside the countries, if we were able to do that and, you know, trying to grow the game I think, you know, Philippines obviously can produce you know, more, lots of great players.
Douglas Maida:Yeah, you raise a very good point there Yuka. I've heard from some people, as we were mentioning the interest in golf and the success that you had last year, Bianca and your success this year Yuka -- kids are, are growing and going to the golf course and playing and, my friends are telling me they're seeing a lot more junior golfers out at the golf course. I mean, that must feel good for both of you that they're wanting to emulate, all of you, you know, and Dottie too, because you know, she's got her fans too, playing on the LPGA, and people are watching her play and and, you know, I'm getting a lot of comments saying how nice it is to see three Philippine flags on the scoreboards and the leaderboard. So that's obviously gonna feel pretty good and satisfying that the two of you are role models for a lot of the kids going to the golf courses.
Yuka Saso:Yeah, I, I actually, you know, look up to Dottie a lot, and obviously, to Bianca as well, you know, they came to LPGA earlier than I did. And they have lots of experience and, you know, for all the hard works, I think, like I said, if we had more support, you know, I think they could, or, you know, we all could introduce the golf to more junior or kids in Philippines. And I think both of them are very, you know, great players. And, like I said, I look up to them. So hopefully we can get that near in the future,
Douglas Maida:When you say some more support, are you thinking like, financial support and coaching support to be able to develop Junior golf programs in, in more parts of the Philippines, and/or being able to support Junior programs so that you can travel out of the country to play like a, like a National Junior golf team or program,
Yuka Saso:I think maybe more on Junior programs, you know, trying to grow the juniors, that's where we need to start compared to, you know, other countries like, Korea, or Japan, or China, because I've been there many times, the way they support the juniors or like, how they support the tournaments. It's really different. So um, hopefully, you know, you know, we can help them up a little bit, you know, grow the game.
Douglas Maida:Right. Do you have any thoughts, Bianca about how you'd like to see the game grower what you think needs to be, or if it was your wish list, what you'd like to see addressed,
Bianca Pagdanganan:I mean, Yuka said a lot of the points that I was thinking of definitely like support. And you can just see that, you know, other countries are able to do it, they're able to produce amazing Junior golfers. Like, they play phenomenal, phenomenal golf at a really young age. So you could just see how much support they get from, I guess, like their programs in their respective countries, and you just know that they get a lot of support, especially because, you know, they get to play a lot of events. And I think that's very important, especially as a junior golfer, you need the exposure, you need the experience, you know, that in general is a big deal. I mean, I can personally say that I didn't really have a lot of experience growing up as a junior golfer, I didn't really play a whole lot of events. I mean, I wish I did, but, you know, if we had more support for probably like Junior programs, because like what Yuka said, that's how you're that's where we should start when these kids are young. But also make it like, you know, probably fun because you don't want kids getting burnt out at an early age. But yeah, overall, that's just pretty much like the thought that I have trying to grow the game. But comparing it to my, I'm not trying to make it sound like it was a long time ago, but my time, it's definitely a lot different than how it is now. I mean, it's much better, but of course, you can probably still do some more work, you know, heading towards that direction of trying to produce great athletes.
Douglas Maida:I think in the last decade or so golf has become; has become known as or requiring athletes as opposed to just golfers I mean, breaking the old stereotypes that, oh, you play golf, you're not an athlete.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yeah.
Douglas Maida:Did you ever think someday, Bianca, that people would be looking up to you as a role model?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Nope. I had to be straightforward. No. I'm just because I have. It's weird, but it's also like very, like, I'm very grateful for that. I appreciate the fact that there are people who look up to me it's pretty surreal, kind of weird, because obviously, like, I had a hard time like seeing, trying to see my own talent for what it was just because it took me a while to actually get better in the sport. Like I was just mediocre growing up. I was like, Okay, I wasn't winning any events. I was like, I'm just gonna be one of those like -- okay, who knows if I'll make it out on tour. And then for some reason, something just switched and like, I started playing better golf and I honestly couldn't believe it at first. I was like, I'm actually doing pretty good. Like I'm excelling in what I do that sort of take it to the next level. So I think that's when it just started to, you know, push me. There was something about me being very competitive with myself that wanted to make me better. So the fact that there that I get to inspire people just by doing what I enjoy doing is something very fulfilling, and probably something I never really saw or I've never seen coming. So it's kind of weird. I'm like, oh, you're my idol. Like, me? Thank you. I still want to get offered. I like don't know how to respond. But thank you, I really appreciate it. But you know, that's like, having people who, when I find out that you know, there are people who look up to me, it just makes me want to do better and be better not just for myself, but you know, for everyone else around me.
Douglas Maida:How about you Yuka? Have you been back to the Philippines at all this year since the US Open?
Yuka Saso:No.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yuka's my idol.
Yuka Saso:I've never been really back the Philippines. It's not easy to go back now. Because we have to do quarantine. So yeah, not really.
Douglas Maida:Has anybody recognized you on the in the United States?
Yuka Saso:Junior kids, Maybe not? Yeah.
Douglas Maida:Well, I know when you go back to the Philippines, you're definitely going to have a lot of attention.
Yuka Saso:Yeah maybe.
Douglas Maida:Well, I saw last I saw in June, one of the golf courses there, one of them made an announcement that they had awarded you an honorary lifetime membership of their course.
Yuka Saso:Oh, I'm not sure.
Douglas Maida:No, but you know, there's just that kind of stuff. And I know they're going to be excited when you do go back too, so.
Yuka Saso:Yeah, I'm pretty excited to go back. But same time, you know, I still have to pay attention to my health. And hopefully, I can go back and thank all the people who have supported me and yeah, hopefully soon and see what's going on there.
Douglas Maida:Let's talk a little bit about sponsorship. We've been talking about other things that can happen with regards to golf, for junior programs and whatnot. But how important is the sponsorship been for you in these past couple of years? I noticed, you know, as an observer, I've noticed an increase of ICTSI for example, now is a lot more prominent in terms of their sponsorship of you know, yourselves, You, Bianca and I think Dottie is on some sponsorship from ICTSI as well. I mean, that's a fairly new development and Women's Professional Golf. Any thoughts about the importance of sponsorship and, and things companies like ICTSI stepping up to support women's golf?
Yuka Saso:Okay, I am very grateful for ICTSI. You know, they've been there since the beginning for me And know, they also have this...they also built this LPGT -- professional golfer in the Philippines, to grow the game to grow the golf in Philippines. So yeah, for, all of the things they've done for me, I'm really grateful for and for all the support. You know, it's been unbelievable. Yeah, I cannot, you know, I'm grateful that I have them on my side.
Douglas Maida:Great. But what about yourself, Bianca?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I just think that ICTSI has always been very supportive of women's golfers. But yeah, like what you said, you know, they're not just supporting us out here on the LPGA. But they also have the Filipina Golf Tour back home. So at least, you know, like she said, she, they're still trying to grow the game and making sure that you know, golfers who were able to play on those events, you know, have the opportunity to just keep playing golf and do what they love. So like I say like, Yuka said, like, she's very grateful. And so am I --I am super grateful for their support of partnering with them at the start of my pro career and honestly, like, some things would have been; wouldn't have been possible without their help. And I'm just truly grateful that, you know, I'm able to represent them on tour and just really have a great support system in general, but a lot of things I wouldn't have been able to do without their support
Douglas Maida:Well said well said you too. Are there any other sponsors that either the two of you would like to thank maybe you're and I say sponsors as opposed to fans or, or family members? Is there any other sponsors that you'd like to acknowledge or?
Yuka Saso:First I'd like to thank my family. You know, they've been there too since the beginning. Like, you know, But you know, without them I wouldn't be here. No, especially my dad has been supporting me since I started playing golf. So I'm very thankful to my family and my other sponsors. Piretti, Ginza Choshuya, the Japanese Sword or rock paint, Poka-ku, Muira -- You know, they've been a great support since the beginning of you know, my pro career. So yeah, thank you for all the support.
Douglas Maida:And how about you, Bianca?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Definitely say, um, I feel like my family has played such a huge role in terms of my career. And the success that I've experienced so far, and definitely wouldn't have gone this far without them. They're the ones who really believe in me and tried to push me to believe in myself and just become better. So I'm just, I wasn't the only one who had to, you know, give up and sacrifice a lot of things, but so did them. So, you know, I just obviously want to thank my mom, my dad. My dad, who's always with me when I travel, personal driver, a guy who does my laundry, but yeah, my dad does everything for me, which I'm super grateful for just because I get to focus on golf, and just do my own thing. And, of course, my mom and my brother, my sister back home in the Philippines, that, you know, they're my team-- my brother's my lawyer, my sister's, my financial advisor. So I'm just grateful that I have a good relationship with my family, and that they're really able to help me pursue my, my dreams, and of course, my friends back home, that I can still keep in touch with very understanding that I've had to miss a lot of things growing up, but they're still my friends. And they're my other support group. My other sponsors, you know, I got ICTSI, Skyflakes, Smart Design, my clubs -- PING ing that I've always played my entire life, pretty much. Yeah, just everything FootJoy, Titleist, -- trying to make sure I don't miss anything. But yeah, I'm just grateful for the support that I've got. But overall, you know, like I said earlier, I wouldn't be where I am without the help, the support that I get from my sponsors, my family and my friends. And I'm just really grateful that I have all that to back me up, especially on the tougher days that I have. So thank you everyone.
Douglas Maida:Right. That's good. That's good. Let me ask you where I mean, we're nearing the end of our program. So a couple more things I wouldn't mind chatting about with you. Life on the tour, and life on the LPGA. I mean, there. And I asked this and most of our guests, I mean, there's a big impression that when they see you playing golf on TV, they think it's a fairly, you're playing in these beautiful venues, and you're playing in these great cities and things like that. And there's this belief that it's a very glamorous life, and maybe to some degree, it is -- for sure you get to travel places that you've never been before and see the world a bit. But, am I fair to say that it's a roller coaster for you? And that you go up and down? And there's a lot of things to to deal with week in and week out? And, you know, things of that nature? I mean, is that a fair assessment? Bianca?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yeah, definitely. I just because we get to travel to a lot of places doesn't really mean we get to explore a whole lot. I'm just the type of person who just, oh,
well, this is how I view things:tournament weeks, are for tournaments. Like when I travel. I guess like, sometimes I feel like I should, you know, I've tried to at least see one place. That's not the golf course. But I just, I just can't get myself to do it. Because in my head, I'm like, I'm here for work. And I mean, I shouldn't deprive myself of being able to go out and explore. But at the same time, it's just like, I am in the hotel, I'm in the golf course I get back home and I'm tired. It's like I just want to kind of lay in bed and save my energy for the rest of the week. But yeah, there are definitely some things that people don't see behind what they see on TV. And it's easy for them to judge with what they see on like, social media whatsoever. So it's kind of hard on us athletes, I would say sometimes, like it's all it's not just like rainbows and butterflies, and everything's perfect because we get to play and amazing courses, but there's just so much work that goes behind that. And it's just, there's just a lot of things that I could probably talk about, but I wouldn't go on and on. Just because of how much I'd probably have to say. There's just so many other things that people don't see. And it really takes a lot of like mental toughness to be able to, you know, go through everything, especially with life on tour being on the road, week after week. Like, sometimes when you're out on the road you wish for like simple things like being able to eat off of a plate, when all you get is takeout all the time. I mean, we get food at the clubhouse, but for other meals, it's just like, having to decide what you want to eat, when you don't have a kitchen in your hotel room or whatsoever, you know, some of those simple things you kind of have to worry about. And I'm just like, I shouldn't be thinking about this, but it is what it is. And life on the road is just, it just has a lot of ups and downs. It is fun, though. But yeah, a lot of ups and downs.
Douglas Maida:And how about you Yuka? What are your thoughts? And, and how do you cope with the highs and the laws of playing professional golf Yuka?
Yuka Saso:You know, me being professional, my experiences, like very little. So, like in Japan, it's pretty easy for to travel, everything is pretty near nearby, so not very hard on that. And I'm a very indoor person, so I don't really want to go out after a golf course, I just want to go back to hotel or home and sleep or rest. Even in private life, I don't really go out to, you know, places or yeah, like shopping, I don't really do that. So not nothing really changed for me. Even I'm on the road. got off course go back to hotel, rest, and then repeat. But like Bianca said, maybe food is a little bit of challenging, because some place here in United States, I mean, I'm used to eating rice, because that's our food in Asia. And that's pretty much hard to find here in America. So you know, not having rice for, you know, three weeks in a row or like a month, it's pretty tough. But yeah, I'm getting kind of used to it and, you know, finding a good food. And they LPGA and, you know, tournaments, they, you know, give us very quality food. And so it's been great, but outside, it's not like yeah, like I said, it's pretty, not easy to, you know, find the food that you want to eat.
Bianca Pagdanganan:Can I just like add on to that. I guess like one way of handling everything on tours, you need to like at least try to find an outlet that's not golf related, just so you don't go crazy because that's literally what you do every day. If you're not competing, you're out practicing and you need to find something that'll help you take your mind off things like maybe a book, a game, or if you'd like drawing, or just something that's not related to the sport that way it can kind of lessen the feeling of probably getting burnt out one day or just being upset with everything that you do. So that's like one thing that I learned I guess in the past year I like Yuka, I don't really have a whole lot of experience. This is like my rookie year on tour, but yeah, just having some sort of outlet that isn't completely just go watch a movie or something. So yeah,
Douglas Maida:Right. Let's say for example, you're back in the Philippines or at the driving range. A young girl or young boy comes up to you and tells you that they have a dream to play professional golf. What advice would you give them? Yuka-- Do you want to start and then okay. Or would you prefer Bianca start?
Yuka Saso:I can, I can go -- let's play golf. Alright. Yeah, I'm naw, I'm just kidding. I'm probably play a lot of golf. And, you know, enjoy every, you know, moment. Enjoyed the journey.
Douglas Maida:Right. Right. Okay. Good advice. And how about you, Bianca?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I would just listen to the US Open Champion's advice. Same, no, but I'd probably say that it's not going to be easy, just so you know. I'm not gonna scare them obviously, but You know, your journey is definitely gonna. Or you're gonna have to put in like a lot of sacrificing, you need to make sure that you really that this is what you really want to do. But nothing is ever impossible. And if you put your mind and your heart into something that you really want or something that you really believe in, you can definitely achieve it. Especially with like a grade. I should probably make it simpler because this is a junior golfer, right? But, um, yeah. Yeah, I just thought about that. But yeah, if you have a great support system, family that right behind you pushing you every step of the way, then, you know, that's gonna be a huge blessing. But overall, I think the most important part is that you enjoy everything that you're going to go through, because you'll look back one day and just kind of be like -- Oh, you know, the memories are just going to kick back in and you'll remember all the good times that you have, and that's something that you'll probably want to remember when you're having a tough day at the office, on the golf course. It's just make sure you have lots of great memories, because that's something that you're going to look back at and kind of help you you know, get back on track and kind of remind you why you're doing what you're doing.
Douglas Maida:Great, wonderful advice. Ladies, I appreciate it. could probably come up with a dozen more questions and topics to talk about, but appreciate your time already. And we should draw this to a close so I will say thank you to both of you. Salamat po and Domo arigato gozaimashita
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yeah, I think that's the word good. Better than how you said my last.
Douglas Maida:I don't I surprised you there, Yuka. I actually speak Japanese pretty good. I mean, for a visitor.
Yuka Saso:Thank you.
Bianca Pagdanganan:I just say like Onaka ga akimashita -- I'm hungry.
Douglas Maida:Um, is there any special thank you that you would like leave with somebody or anything like that? Start with you, Bianca. Yes, no?
Bianca Pagdanganan:I'm sure like, well, thank you for having me and Yuka, and just thinking about us as your guests for your podcast. Really appreciate it. I also want to thank you for for adjusting your time. I'm sorry. But yeah, obviously. Thank you, to you. Thank you to everyone who listens and supports your show. I think it's nice that there's a golf podcast that likes to guess us Filipinos/Japanese. But yeah, thank you know, everyone listening, everyone supporting us. We really appreciate everything that you know, everything that you guys do for us. So yeah. Thanks, guys. My family and friends too.
Douglas Maida:and how about you, Yuka?
Yuka Saso:Um, actually, it's almost same. Thank you for having us. It's been really fun. And of course, Aisa, my caddy at Canlubang. Thank you for listening. And also, Julie Ting, we haven't met but, thank you for listening and cheering us from afar. And obviously, to all the people who who's listening. Thank you for listening to us. And hopefully see you guys and you know, hopefully on tour watching us.
Douglas Maida:Alright, thank you. Wonderful. Thank you very much, ladies for taking time out of your day to be with us. And it's super appreciated. And best of luck in your future upcoming activities. Yuka I guess your next event will be playing the Pelican?. Or are you going to Korea?
Yuka Saso:I am going to Japan?
Douglas Maida:Oh, you are going to Japan?
Yuka Saso:Yes. I'm playing.
Douglas Maida:Are you going to play the LPGA? Yes. So you're going to play the Toto event?
Yuka Saso:That's not like"sure, sure" yet. We're just thinking about it. Now.
Douglas Maida:Right? And how about you, Bianca, your next event will be the qualifier for the Pelican?
Bianca Pagdanganan:Yes, sir. I'll probably try to find like, warm up events before heading into that and Q-Series. So that's what I have in mind.
Douglas Maida:Wonderful. All right. Well, thank you again, ladies and wonderful. And have a good couple of weeks and best wishes for you and for the holiday season that's fast approaching.
Yuka Saso:Thank you. Stay Safe
Bianca Pagdanganan:Thank you again for having us. Yep, stay safe.
Douglas Maida:Bye bye. And that Ladies and gentlemen, concludes our show for tonight. Thank you very, very much for listening with us. And we'll see you again soon with another show. Take care.
Amy (Studio):You have been listening to our podcast show. We're talking golf produced by the world of golf. This episode was recorded on Tuesday, October 12th 2021. If you have an idea for a future show, please send us an email to info@worldofgolf.org. Please include podcast show in the subject line. This show is the copyright of the world of golf. Thank you for joining us.