Japan’s Mao Saigo described it as the best round of her life.
For anybody good enough to play their way onto the top tours, that’s really saying something.
Saigo was dropping absolutely everything — putts, jaws, even a 133-yard wedge-shot from the fairway — during Saturday’s third round of the CPKC Women’s Open at Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary, sizzling to a score of 11-under 61.
The 22-year-old Saigo, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, is now tied for third on the tournament leaderboard with 18 holes to play, although she is still five strokes back of the frontrunner Haeran Ryu.
Prior to Saturday’s sensational spin, Saigo had been sitting 46th.
“When I made that par putt on the last hole, that’s when I realized I just played the best golf of my life,” said Saigo, who has posted a three-round tab of 8-under 208, through an interpreter.
The best golf of her life.
And miles better than most of us can even dream of.
Saigo’s scorecard featured an eagle, nine birdies and eight ho-hum pars. Sure, the conditions were relatively calm when she teed off but still … Jeez.
Sixty-one is not only the best single-round score of the week. It’s the best in 50 editions so far of the CPKC Women’s Open, an event that always draws a stacked field.
“When I think about score, I get nervous,” Saigo explained. “So I try not to think about scores. I try to just hit the best shot each time.”
On Saturday, it seemed like she couldn’t hit a bad one.
As she cranked out birdie after birdie, eventually pushing into double digits in the red, the crowd around her continued to swell.
You could easily spot the Earl Grey members in the gallery. They were the ones shaking their heads in disbelief.
Saigo was admittedly a bit surprised herself. She hadn’t mustered a single birdie on Thursday or Friday. She was apparently saving them all.
“It’s extremely impressive,” said Pat Wilmot, the head professional at Earl Grey, a 6,856-yard hangout that has earned rave reviews — and deservedly so — from the LPGA Tour stars this week. “I was out near the 18th green, showing my family around the golf course, and I ran into (Golf Channel commentator) Grant Boone. He came up to me and said, ‘Did you know there’s a 59 Watch?’ I hadn’t looked at the scores for maybe an hour, and he brought us up in the booth and showed us through her round. I mean, 23 putts through 18 holes?!?”
Oftentimes, the golfers that finish with the fewest putts on any given day have been a little off with their aim. They’re able to limit their flat-stick use by repeatedly hitting knocking their chips close.
But Saigo hit 16 of 18 greens. She skipped the putting portion altogether on No. 10, simply sinking her approach — a perfect pitching wedge from 133 yards out.
On the Par-13 17th, the hockey-themed ‘Rink Hole,’ her tee-ball stopped about two feet from the flag. Essentially a gimme.
“It created a buzz around the whole facility,” Wilmot said. “It was just so cool. We were so proud to see 6-under as the leading score after two days, and 68 being the low. But to see a 61 … That is just so exceptional.
“There’s a wow factor to it.”
Some of Saigo’s peers were also wowed by her record rip.
“I don’t think I would have imagined that, especially after the first two days, with how it played,” said Rose Zhang, also tied for third at Earl Grey after twirls of 71-71-66. “Wow, that’s a crazy score.”
Added the leader Ryu, whose 64 on Saturday is the second-best round of the week: “I just said to my manager, ‘Wow, she’s crazy.’ ”
“I’m assuming they were teed off pretty early, because there was no wind so I feel like the conditions were very scoreable,” said Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson, having just signed for a 3-under 69. “I feel like once you get it going on this golf course, I could see how that would happen. It’s a very impressive round, but I can see how once you get into the flow, things can kind of go your way.”
So could we see it again?
“I hope I can do that (Sunday),” Henderson said.
Saigo, who stressed the importance of hitting reset after any round, good or bad, will be aiming for a repeat feat.
Previously a force on the LPGA of Japan Tour, she’s also shooting for her first victory on the biggest stage. Her best finish in 15 previous starts this season is a tie for seventh.
“When I wanted to play pro golf, my dream was to win on LPGA Tour,” Saigo said. “I want to make that dream come true.”