Taiwanese am nips Thai pro for Pradera title
LUBAO, Pampanga – When the going got tough, it was an amateur who got going as Taiwanese Yu Chiang Hou delivered key shots on the second playoff hole, nipping Thai pro Wanchana Poruangrong with a tap-in birdie in a fitting ending to an event that faced uncertainties due to erratic weather at the Pradera Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga yesterday. Still unsure actually was the winner after the 54-hole regulation in windy, wet and hot conditions as Hou hit a clutch birdie on No. 15 in regulation to spike a closing 69, catching Poruangrong at five-under 211 after the Thai ended up with a 70.
Both parred the first playoff hole with Poruangrong muffing a pin-length birdie putt on the undulating surface of the all-weather layout that withstood the nature’s wrath in the first two days and brought out the best from the surviving field in the final round.
But Hou proved better and steadier in the end, outhitting Poruangrong on their second shot on their third trip on the par-5 ninth then hacking out a solid wedge shot from 60 yards to within inches off the cup, the ball nearly hitting the target after Poruangrong approached to within eight feet.
With pressure and all, Poruangrong flubbed her birdie try and failed to extend the match as the 18-year-old Hou tapped it in for the victory that capped her three days of gutsy play against some of the leading players on the LPGA of Taiwan (TLPGA) and the country’s top shotmakers.
“I feel excited but there was no pressure,” said Hou before she was hauled to the awards rites to receive the champion’s trophy in the $80,000 event put up by ICTSI and which served as the ninth stop of the 2019 TLPGA Tour. She actually took home two trophies, including the amateur.