Steadier in the crunch, Thai ladies finish 1-2 Superal spirals downward with spate of bogeys

SILANG, Cavite – Yupaporn Kawinpakorn bucked the wind and pulled away from Princess Superal after 10 holes then edged Chonlada Chayanun by two despite double-bogeys in the last two holes as Thailand dominated the ICTSI South Forbes Ladies Invitational at the South Forbes Golf Club here yesterday.

Tied with Superal after 36 holes, Kawinpakorn went 4-up with an even card after 10 holes as the local ace fumbled with two bogeys and a doublebogey and the Thai veteran bucked a shaky windup to card a 71 and beat Chayanun by two with a five-over 206 total for her second crown after winning the Philippine Ladies Open 10 years ago.

“I knew I could win here because the course is short. But we had to deal with the wind that blew from all directions all tournament-long,” said Kawinpakorn, after receiving the top P150,000 purse from Philippine Golf Tour executive director Narlene Soriano during awards rites at the close of the record 11-stage Ladies PGT circuit.

Three behind Kawinpakorn at the start of the final round, Chayanun fell by as many as seven shots after 16 holes but gained a three-shot swing with a birdie on No. 17. But she ran out of holes in her comeback bid, finishing with a 70 and pocketing P95,000 for second with a 208.

It was Chayanun’s second straight runner-up effort after a 1-2-3 romp by the Thais in the Philippine Ladies Masters won by Renuka Suksukont at The Country Club two weeks ago.

And it was a sorry finish for Superal, who had hoped for a big windup after closing out her second round with three straight birdies to force a tie for the lead. But she failed to recover from a bogey-bogey miscue from No. 6 and a double-bogey mishap on the par-3 No. 10.

She dropped another stroke on No. 13, double bogeyed the 15th and wound up with a birdie-par-bogey finish for a 74, ending up third at 209 worth P60,000 in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.