Ikeda bucks 77 in final round, escapes with two-shot victory
CHIHIRO IKEDA banked on a huge overnight lead as she survived a horrendous final round meltdown to claim her second championship in the last four legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT), beating Sarah Ababa by two despite a five-over 77 in General Trias, Cavite, on Thursday.
Ikeda had built a six-shot cushion over Harmie Constantino and amateur Mikha Fortuna after 36 holes of the P1.5 million championship but went through some anxious moments before pulling through in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational on a performance that was in stark contrast to her blistering second round 68 Wednesday.
“I played bad but still won,” said Ikeda, who banked P202,500 in a victory that came after she reigned at Mt. Malarayat last May, then fought back from a share of fifth at Splendido with a joint runner-up effort at Pradera Verde last month.
“I was a little bit tired and failed to play steady, but I just kept on fighting” added the Manila Southwoods and AsiaGlobal Technologies-backed pro, who honed her skills under swing coach Bong Lopez.
BIBAT, LASCUÑA CATCH GO
MICHAEL BIBAT and Tony Lascuña closed out in scorching fashions in separate flights and forced a threeway tie for the lead as Lloyd Go slowed down with a 72 in the men’s contest also on Thursday.
Bibat sustained a late frontside rally with three birdies in the last seven holes in dark skies as he bounced back from a second round 72 with the day’s best six-under 66 while Lascuña checked an impending fold-up by going four-under in the last five, spiked by an eagle on No. 16, for a 68.
The veteran pair with contrasting records on the PGT thus pooled a 54-hole aggregate of nine-under 207, catching Go at the helm after the young Cebuano find, who led the elite field by two halfway through the P2 million championship, settled for a one-birdie, one-bogey round after posting the first six-under card in his big, surprise charge Wednesday.