Young guns top Phl Ladies opener
Philippine golf’s future is so bright it shines through the present.
In a tournament reserved for the best female golfers in the country, a horde of young talents — most of them still competing in the junior meets — showed that they were ready for the big stage.
Tip of the spear was Cebuana junior golfer Grace Pauline Quintanilla who blasted through with a one-under-par 70 on Tuesday to take the lead in the Philippine Ladies Open at Manila Golf Club.
The 17-year-old Quintanilla, who had an extensive stint in the United States last year, now holds a two-stroke lead over fellow youngster Laurea Duque who had a one-over-par 72.
Another junior golfer Precious Zaragosa hit a 74 to crowd the top three in the standings.
The young guns have taken over this early in the tournament which determines the Philippine delegation to the Queen Sirikit Cup in New Zealand next month.
Lee Ji Won of South Korea occupied fourth place following a 75, while one stroke behind her were Filipino jungolf stalwarts Alessandra Luciano, Reese Allyson Ng and Anya Cedo.
A big bunch of yet another junior golf standouts followed after identical 77s in the first of three rounds of the meet presented by Monde Nissin and organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.
Francesca Nicole Gan, Lia Duque, Anna Kei Fernandez, Crista Miñoza and Tashanah Balangauan are joint sixth place.
Lia Rosca is at solo seventh with 78, while junior circuit champs Levonne Talion and Alethea Gaccion are at shared eighth after a 79.
‘The winds are heavy.’
“I spent a lot of times, punching shots under the trees,” he said during his practice round on Tuesday.
Julius Bautista, one of Del Monte’s top amateurs who will see action next week, said the greens are hard, advising players to hit it short and let the ball roll into the green.
“Puwede tirahin ang green kung ang pin nasa likod,” Bautista said.
The city rolled out the red carpet for the event’s diamond anniversary as it hosted a welcome dinner at the Mallberry Hotel on Monday.
Participants were treated to an evening of cultural dances highlighted by the performance of the city’s young dancesport athletes.
The seniors’ competition kicks off on Thursday with Luisita defending its title against the souped-up teams of Canlubang and Manila Southwoods, and the dangerous Del Monte squad.
The 75th staging of the PAL Interclub is supported by diamond sponsors Mastercard and Asian Journal.
Platinum sponsors include Airbus, Primax Broadcasting Network and Araw Hospitality while gold sponsors are Tanduay and Asia Brewery.
Joining the event as silver sponsors are ABS-CBN Global, Radio Mindanao Network and Philippine National Bank.
VISA is a minor sponsor while Must Glow is joining as a donor.