Top story:Mao Saigo Shocks Earl Grey GC with Stunning 61 on Saturday at the CPKC Women’s Open.full details below ⏬ ⏬

Top story:Mao Saigo Shocks Earl Grey GC with Stunning 61 on Saturday at the CPKC Women’s Open.full details below ⏬ ⏬

While Mao Saigo is a rookie this season on the LPGA Tour, she didn’t play like one on Moving Day at the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.The 22-year-old Japan native stunned fans on Saturday at Earl Grey Golf Club, blitzing the field with an 11-under 61 and breaking the 18-hole tournament scoring record at the CPKC Women’s Open, one that was originally set by Song Hee-Kim back in 2009 at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, which is also located in Calgary.Saigo began the third round in a tie for 46th at 3-over total, quickly grabbing a birdie on the par-5 1st hole to get back to 2-over overall. She made another birdie on the par-5 4th hole and then picked up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes eight and nine to get back into the red, making the turn at 1-under for the tournament.Saigo then had her highlight of the day on the par-4 10th hole, holing out from 134 yards with her pitching wedge for an eagle to get to 6-under for the round. She followed that spectacular shot up with a pair of birdies on holes 11 and 12, now sitting at 5-under overall and 8-under on the day with six holes to play.But Saigo didn’t stop there.She landed another one-two punch of birdies on the par-5 14th and par-5 15th holes, moving to 7-under for the tournament and 10-under for the round, collecting one last birdie on the par-3 17th hole to post an 11-under 61, her new career-low 18-hole score on the LPGA Tour and the new 18-hole scoring record at the CPKC Women’s Open.  “I’m very proud of myself because that was my best round probably since I started playing golf,” said Saigo, who is now in a tie for third alongside two-time LPGA Tour winner Rose Zhang. “The wind wasn’t blowing much, so I was trying to make birdies on par 5s and try to keep my strengths with my iron shots. I was able to do that, so I was very proud.”Saigo finished in a tie for second at the Final Qualifying portion of the LPGA Qualifying Series in 2023, a performance in Lower Alabama that earned her LPGA Tour membership for the 2024 season.Before joining the organization, Saigo had collected six victories on the JLPGA Tour, five of which came in 2022, an impressive performance from a young athlete who only turned professional a few years ago. She had also made 12 starts on the LPGA Tour, going nine for 12 in made cuts and nearly winning The Amundi Evian Championship in 2022 as a non-member, ultimately finishing in a tie for third in Evian-les-Bains, France. So, the learning curve that rookies typically face in their inaugural seasons on the LPGA Tour didn’t appear like it would be as steep for Saigo as maybe some of her other counterparts this season, even more so considering all of her past experience with high-level professional golf, a fact that was certainly evidenced by her 61 on Saturday at the CPKC Women’s Open.“I played on the Japanese Tour for three years, and from that experience, I was able to qualify for the LPGA Tour,” said Saigo. “Just because I am a rookie, I wasn’t going to be intimidated. I just wanted to play my own game, and to be able to shoot this score, I’m very happy about it.”This is Saigo’s 16th tournament of her rookie season, and in her 15 previous starts, she has earned five top-15 finishes, the best and most notable of which is a tie for seventh that came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club last month.And, ahead of this week in Calgary, Alberta, the 22-year-old was ranked second on the LPGA Tour in rounds under par (32), third in greens in regulation (73.02%), eighth in rounds in the 60s (17) and ninth in scoring average (70.61), a statistical medley that could have predicted a super-low round was to come for the young talent.But for pretty much all professional athletes, there is only one column that truly matters in their personal record books at the end of the day – victories – and Mao Saigo is no exception to that fact.She is currently sitting just five shots behind 54-hole leader Haeran Ryu at 8-under overall, and if she can rekindle the magic she found on Moving Day at Earl Grey Golf Club, that first Tour title might not be too far out of reach for Saigo on Sunday at the CPKC Women’s Open.“When I wanted to play pro golf, my dream was to win on the LPGA Tour, so I (want) to make that dream come true,” Saigo said. “I always reset no matter what I shoot, so even though I’m leading the tournament (at the moment,) that attitude wouldn’t change. I’ll reset myself and play tomorrow.”