Mao Saigo is making a splash again, contending for a second straight major victory

ERIN, Wis. — It wasn’t that long ago that Mao Saigo jumped into the water after winning the Chevron Championship.

There’s not much water at all at Erin Hills, but Saigo could be lifting another major championship trophy this weekend, this time without a robe.

Saigo fired a six-under 66 Friday and is leading the tournament at eight-under.

“The conditions were better than [Thursday]. That's why I made a lot better shots and a lot better putts and that brought me a better score and results,” Saigo said through a translator.

Saigo could become the first player to win the first two majors of the year since Annika Sorenstam did it in 2005.

There haven’t been any multiple winners on tour this year, and it’s even tougher to accomplish that feat in majors. Lilia Vu is the last player to win two majors in a year, winning the Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open in 2023.

Saigo, 23, is doing things she’s never done in her young career. The 66 is her lowest round in a major since she became an LPGA member. Prior to that, she shot a 64 in the final round of the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship.

Her talent is obvious, and if she can conquer a USGA setup on the weekend, she could tear up the course the way Brooks Koepka did when he won the U.S. Open here in 2017.

Asked if she might be able to reach a similar number, Saigo said, “It’s very difficult to compare. All I can say is that I will do my best and as a result I would like to make a good result.”

So far so good.

Saigo is a rising Japanese star, whose first LPGA victory came in the Chevron Championship, winning a five-woman playoff on the first extra hole.

Asked what she’ll draw on from that experience, she said, “What I think was the most important thing in the major is that I have to make one stroke and one hit be very valuable. I have to re-set my mind and then approach to each stroke.”

She hit 11 of 14 fairways, but just 12 of 18 greens in regulation on Friday. The key statistic was her putting. Saigo had just 24 putts in the second round. Similarly putting that effectively over the next two rounds would likely position herself to win a second straight major.

Saigo has the swagger in her step from the first major of the year, and that’s helped.

“I think that I was able to be more confident about the judgments that I make,” Saigo said. “I would like to play my play rather than thinking about changing myself.”