Del Rosario keeps poise, wins Malaysian Am title

Pauline del Rosario wavered at the back but pounced on local ace Nur Durriyah Damian’s meltdown on No. 15 to snare the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open crown by three with a closing oneover 73 at the Templer Park Country Club in Kuala Lumpur late Thursday.

Del Rosario blew a two-stroke lead with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13 but cashed in on Durriyah’s errant second shot on the tight par-5 No. 15 that went out-ofbounds. The top ICTSI-The Country Club ace played it smart instead, using her trusted 5-iron then pitched to within 100 yards for a routine par and took a three-stroke lead as Durriyah hobbled with a triple-bogey.

Del Rosario, 16, then salvaged two pars in the last three holes and signed for that 73 and a 54-hole total 216 to beat her SEA Games-bound rivals and annex her biggest win in a young amateur career.

“It was tough out there and I’m just delighted to have done enough to win the championship by a pretty good margin,” said Del Rosario, who also topped her division in the Sportexcel Junior Championship last month, also in Kuala Lumpur then helped Team Philippines claim runner-up honors in last week’s Queen Sirikit Cup in Hong Kong.

Durriyah hobbled with a second straight 75 and slid to third at 220, enabling Fil-Kiwi Julianne Alvarez to snatch second place at 219 with the day’s best 71. Hong Kong’s Michelle Cheung carded a 74 for fourth at 225 while Indonesian Inez Wanamarta shot a 73 for a 226.

“She has improved a lot – in shotmaking, iron and short game and decision-making. But she still has to polish her putting stroke, which is very crucial especially in tight finishes,” said ICTSITCC coach Bong Lopez.

Del Rosario, who surged ahead by two with a two-under 70 Thursday, went three-up with two birdies against a bogey after nine holes as Durriyah settled for a 36.