Mandanas, Constantino take charge
‘Other’ Thai foils Cyna, scores LPGT breakthru
SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan – Thai Saruttaya Ngam- usawan used a strong start to wrest control then flashed near-impeccable touch on the greens to shoot a two-under 70 and beat Cyna Rodriguez by two for a breakthrough win in the ICTSI Royal Northwoods Ladies Challenge at the Royal Northwoods Golf Club here yesterday.
Overnight leader Jaruporn Palakawongnaayuttaya cracked under pressure and floundered with an 86 but Ngam- usawan stepped up big in the early going then foiled Rodriguez’s charge in a flight ahead with clutch pars at the back to rule the P1 million championship and snap a long title spell.
“I’m so happy to finally score a big victory. But I really didn’t expect to win after a poor start although I gained some confidence in the second round then made the most of my chances today (yesterday),” said the 28-year-old Ngam-usawan, winless since turning pro in 2010 and had forgettable finishes in three tournaments on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour the past two years.
She looked headed for another so-so campaign after opening with a 77 in the P1 million championship sponsored by ICTSI but turned things around with a solid 69 in the second, moving from nowhere to third, two strokes off Palakawongnaayuttaya.
Ngam-usawan sustained her form and birdied three of the first seven holes in the final round to take charge as Palakawongnaayuttaya fumbled in the early going then the former held sway with a run of gutsy pars at the finish to thwart a charging Rodriguez.
She did stumble with a bogey on the ninth but parred the rest, including five up- and- down feats that firmed up her hold of the lead and frustrated Rodriguez no end. She wound up with an even 216 total and pocketed the top P250,000 purse in the richest leg ever in the four- year old circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Rodriguez, just one behind Ngamusawan after 36 holes, tied the Thai with a birdie opening then grabbed the lead with another feat on No. 7. But she reeled back just as quickly as she bogeyed Nos. 9 and 10 and hardly recovered from another bogey-bogey mishap from No. 14 with birdies on the next two and another bogey on the final hole.
The ace Filipina shotmaker, priming up for the LPGA Stage III Qualifier, closed out with a 71 and pooled a 218 worth P120,000.
Fil-Am Cristina Corpuz, winner of the LPGT Luisita leg last year, carded a 74 and snatched third place at 221 while LPGT Order of Merit frontrunner Chihiro Ikeda limped with a closing 43 for a 77 and wound up fourth at 222. Aniceto Mandanas rode on a fourbirdie binge in the early going to cushion the impact of a faltering windup, settling for a one over 72 and a two-stroke lead over Aidric Chan and Richnell Albano at the start of the NGAP Northern Luzon Regional Golf Championship at the Beverly Place Golf Club in Pampanga yesterday. Mandanas actually stumbled with a bogey on the par-3 second but ran off four straight birdies from No. 3 to seize control of the 18-player field in the centerpiece Elite Amateur ( men’s) division of the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT and MPIC. But he wavered at the tricky backside of the par-71 bunker-laden layout, hobbling with three bogeys and a double bogey and needing to birdie the short par-5 18th to save a 31-41 card and stay two shots clear of Chan and Albano, who turned in a pair of 34-40 cards.
Rupert Zaragoza, the pre-tournament favorite, made a decent frontside 35 but lost his touch and focus at the back, ending up with a 43 to tumble to joint sixth at 78, six strokes adrift. The national champion and former junior titlist made back-to-back double bogeys from No. 10 and had two more bogeys in a birdie-less backside stint.
But Harmie Constantino lived up to the pre-tournament hype, also shooting a 72 to open a five-shot lead over Korean Shin Seo Yun, who carded a 77 while Kristine Torralba shot an 80 in the Elite Amateur women’s side of the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
A recent winner on the ladies pro circuit and member of the victorious Philippine team in the recent World Junior Girls in Canada, Constantino bucked a bogey-bogey start with birdies on Nos. 3 and 7 then stumbled with two more bogeys at the back against a final hole birdie for a 34-38 card.
Jose Antonio Narciso, meanwhile, took command in the men’s division Group I with a 76 for a one-shot lead over August Cruz with Francis Telan at third with a 79 and Alan Alegre, Lisandro Opulencia and Francis Lanuza all carding 80s for joint fourth.
Ricardo Loyola, on the other hand, made an 83 to post a three-stroke lead over Matias Pineda Jr. and Jere Fregil, who turned in identical 86s, in Group II with Alain Canapi at fourth with an 87 and Manny Luzon shooting an 88 for fifth.
Jets Sajulga bogeyed the final hole and slid to fourth in the elite men’s with a 75 while Jolo Magcalayo laying another stroke back at 76.
Joining Zaragosa at sixth were Oh Sang Jin and Seung Hyeon Back.
Nicole Abelar, meanwhile, sputtered with an 81 for fourth in women’s elite while Ashia Nocum and Jona Magcalayo carded identical 83s and Rev Alcantara struggled with an 87.