J-RO, Dottie team up for world ladies tilt

Two-time LPGA winner Jennifer Rosales and reigning Queen Sirikit Cup champion Dottie Ardina team up for the first time as they vie in the inaugural World Ladies Championship firing off today in Mission Hills, Haikou, China.

The event, jointly organized by the Ladies European Tour and the China LPGA Tour, features 108 players from 25 countries and regions with a total prize fund of $600,000 at stake in the 54-hole championship, a 3-in-1 tournament.

Titles to the disputed are the team and the individual pro and amateur championships.

Rosales, with Fil-am partner Dorothy Delasin, won the women’s World Cup in 2008 but the five-time Philippine Ladies Open champion has struggled since with injuries, ending up joint eighth in her last tournament in the Thailand Ladies Open three weeks ago.

She picked Ardina as partner in the upcoming event owing to the top ICTSI bet’s form with the latter, a PSA (Philippine Sports Association) major awardee, also priming up for her defense of the individual crown in the Queen Sirikit Cup in Singapore next month.

“Though she has struggled the last few years, J-RO is pretty much ready for this event and with Dottie also in good form, I think the team has got what it takes to contend for the crown,” said Rosales’ mentor and ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez.

South African Lee-anne Pace, the money list leader in the 2010 European Women’s Tour, and Lydia Ko, a 14-year-old amateur from New Zealand head the elite cast that also includes China’s leading players Feng Shanshan and Ye Liying.

“It’s exciting to play in this kind of format and I think we have good chances, especially in the team event with Dottie enjoying top form. But we have to stay focused and give our best shot since the field is strong,” said Rosales.