Yuka Saso (left) and Bianca Pagdanganan (right. | Inquirer photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines—It’s the turn of Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan to carry the Philippine flag at the Tokyo Olympics as they compete in round one of the women’s golf competition at the Kasimugaseki Golf Club.
Saso will tee off first at 6:30 a.m. while Pagdanganan follows at 7:52 a.m.
The two Filipina golfers won gold medals in the Asian Games in 2018. Now, their main focus is to clinch the gold medal in the Olympics against the world’s best female golfers.
Both Saso and Pagdanganan already anticipated the blistering summer heat in Japan to be their biggest problem in their gold medal campaign.
“It’s very humid up here actually. It’s definitely a factor and you have to make sure you stay hydrated,” said the 23-year old Pagdanganan, who is the longest hitter in the LPGA Tour, in a press release of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Meanwhile, Saso said she’ll enjoy playing with against some of the best in the first two rounds.
“I’m going to be playing against top players but I’ve been playing against great players in my past couple of tournaments so I’m going to enjoy it,” she said.
Fellow Filipino golfer Juvic Pagunsan already bowed out of the Olympics after finishing 55th out of 60 competitors in the men’s individual golf competition on August 1.