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LANCASTER, Pa.: The first Filipina to win the US Women’s Open, and now the first from Japan. The sweetest part for Yuka Saso was sharing her sport’s biggest prize with both of her parents’ countries.

Saso delivered a masterpiece on the back nine at tough Lancaster Country Club on Sunday amid collapses from so many contenders. She closed with a 2-under 68 – the four players in the final two groups combined to go over par at 22 – for a three-shot victory.

And then she held back tears as she presented the trophy – the silver Semple Trophy only bears the names of the 79 winners, not those of their countries – thinking of how much her Filipino mother and Japanese father had given her so much care and support.

She won at the Olympic Club in 2021 playing under the flag of the Philippines. She won at Lancaster three years later under the Japanese flag. She couldn’t be prouder of both.

“Winning in 2021, I represented the Philippines. I feel like I was able to give back to my mom,” Saso said. “This year I was able to represent Japan and I think I was able to give back to my father. I am very happy that I was able to do it.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling that I was able to give back to my parents in the same way.”

Only the flag has changed. Saso, 22, was just as strong down the stretch as she was at the Olympic Club, where two late birdies propelled her into the playoff she won against Nasa Hataoka.

This time, she made four birdies over a five-hole stretch on the back nine with a collection of clutch moments featuring tee shots and putts, wedges and long irons, everything the toughest test requires golf. And no one could catch him.

Saso struggled for par before the 18th green to finish at 4-under 276, winning by three shots over Hinako Shibuno, who in 2019 became the first Japanese player to win the women’s British Open.

They were the only two players under par, the fewest number for the Women’s Open in 10 years.

Saso, who has two Japanese LPGA titles before coming to America, joined Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun as the only players to earn their first two LPGA major championship victories.

It was also her first win since Olympic Club, a victory so surprising that she said she wasn’t ready for the spotlight. She handled everything Lancaster and the Women’s Open threw at her.

“I really wanted it too – not just to get a second win, but also to prove something to myself,” Saso said. “I haven’t won in three years. I definitely had a little doubt about whether I could win again or whether I wouldn’t win again. But yeah, I think those experiences helped me a lot, and I think I was able to prove a little something to myself.

Andrea Lee, who was part of a three-way tie for the lead entering the wild day, was the last player to have a chance to catch Saso. But the Stanford alum, former amateur No. 1, seriously missed her tee shot on the easy 16th and had to settle for par, then made a bogey on the 17th. Lee took a final bogey on the 18th for a 75 to tie for third place with Ally Ewing (66).

Saso won $2.4 million of the $12 million purse, the largest in women’s golf and in women’s sports at a standalone venue.

The win also earned Saso a return to the Olympics – she played for the Philippines in 2021 at the Tokyo Games and was tied for ninth. Before she turned 21, she had to decide which country to represent and she chose Japan.

She led a strong performance from Japan in Lancaster – five players in the top 10. Saso and Shibuno were the first Japanese players to finish 1-2 in a major tournament.

As much as Saso shone, Sunday was filled with crises. No one was more shocking than Minjee Lee, a two-time major champion who won the Women’s Open at Pine Needles two years ago.

Minjee Lee led by three shots when she reached the sixth hole. She missed a few birdie chances and made two bogeys before turning the corner, but was still in control. And then her tee shot on the par-3 12th — the same hole where Nelly Korda made a 10 in the first round — failed and went back into the water. She took a double bogey to fall into a tie with Saso.

Saso took the lead for good with a 3-foot wedge for birdie on 13. Minjee Lee rolled into waist-deep grass on 14, had to take a penalty and made another double bogey. She closed with a 78.

“I missed a few birdie putts earlier, and then I kind of blew up from there,” she said.

Wichanee Meechai of Thailand, the underdog among the winless LPGA leaders and ranked 158th in the world, pulled out early and made triple bogey on the par-3 sixth. She shot 77.

Saso was not immune to mistakes. She had a four-putt double bogey on the par-3 sixth that left her four shots behind Minjee Lee. It was the last of the mistakes that mattered.

Her big run began with a 10-foot birdie putt at the 12th, followed by a wedge for birdie at No. 13. She holed her approach to 6 feet at the 15th hole, then delivered the winner, a 3-wood to 20 feet. on the par 4 16th accessible for a two-putt birdie.

Saso is the second woman to win a major tournament under two flags. Sally Little won the 1980 LPGA Championship for South Africa, then won the 1988 du Maurier Classic as an American citizen.

Saso started the final round three shots behind, and it didn’t take long for the collapses to occur.

Andrea Lee three-putted on the first hole, then made a double bogey on the fourth when she entered the creek, hit a tree with her third shot and had to go up and down a bunker for a double bogey. Meechai three-putted on her first two holes, then went left of the flag on the par-3 sixth where the green slopes down to the left and into the creek.

Saso also needed help in her other victory at the US Women’s Open – Lexi Thompson losing a five-shot lead over the final 10 holes. This time she took control with a brilliant display of clutch putting and taking advantage of the scoring holes.

She said her emotions came from not expecting to win. It was the same at Olympic, and it was the same at Lancaster. This one was twice as nice.