Blazing finish keeps Superal in joint lead

SILANG, Cavite – Princess Superal birdied the last three holes in impressive fashion as she saved a twoover 69 and tied a charging Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of Thailand in the second round of the ICTSI South Forbes Ladies Invitational at the South Forbes Golf Club here yesterday.

That scorching finish on a hot, windy day at the up-and-down par-67 layout enabled the Filipina ace to rally from three down in the last three holes and grab a share of the lead at one-over 135 as Kawinpakorn put in a tournament-best twounder 65.

Kawinpakorn, four behind Superal after the first 18 holes, pulled to within two with an even 33 start then stormed ahead with a huge three-shot swing on No. and another twoshot swing on the next. But she failed to match Superal’s fiery windup and missed gaining the upperhand heading to the last 18 holes of the season-ending P750,000 championship sponsored by ICTSI.

Still, she kept Thailand’s bid for a sweep of the last two legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour after a 1-2-3 finish by her compatriots in the recent Philippine Ladies Masters at The Country Club.

Dottie Ardina recovered from a 70 with a 68 although the LPGA and Symetra Tour campaigner stood three strokes off the joint leaders with a 138 for joint third with another Thai Chonlada Chayanun, who started the round just a stroke off Superal but hobbled with a 71.

But no lead is safe at the short but challenging layout, guaranteeing a wide open battle for the top P150,000 purse, not just among the frontrunners but also for those just four or five strokes behind.

That includes Cyna Rodriguez, who dominated the first three seasons of the country’s first and premier ladies golf circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., who missed closing in on the leaders with a faltering finish. She double-bogeyed No. 15 and holed out with a bogey on the 18th for the second straight day and ended up with a 70 for solo fifth at 139.PR