From the Inquirer...
Rodriguez tops RP Ladies Open; Ikeda trips
CARMONA, Cavite — Cyna Rodriguez finally fulfilled the promise she showed in winning the 13-14 division of the Junior World championship in 2006 in San Diego.
Shooting a brilliant 5-under-par 67, the 18-year-old Rodriguez captured the 48th Philippine Ladies’ Open golf championship pulling away yesterday at the wind-swept Legends course of the Manila Southwoods here.
Rodriguez overhauled a three-shot overnight deficit after just two holes and won by seven strokes with a 54-hole 210 total over Lovelyn Guioguio, a long shot from Del Monte who rallied with a 71.
Guioguio nipped by one stroke Laos Southeast Asian Games star Chihiro Ikeda, leader in the first two rounds with a 67-73 who wobbled in the final round with a 78 for 218.
“This (victory) is definitely sweeter (than the other ones I’ve had),” said Rodriguez, a golf scholar taking up psychology at the University of Southern California. “Mainly because I am playing at home, and nothing beats that.”
Tied for second with Irina Gabasa at the start of the day, Rodriguez, who had earlier rounds of 73-70, secured her first national title with six birdies, four of them in her final nine holes.
Using the punch shot to battle the howling gusts, she capped her big effort with a downhill six-footer on the 18th, igniting a loud celebration from a small gallery that included her parents.
Ikeda, who powered the RP ladies team to victory while topping the individual race in the last SEA Games, never recovered from a bogey-triple bogey start. She three-putted the first hole, then needed four putts on No. 2 after missing the green.
“Everything that could go wrong went wrong today,” the burly Ikeda, an 18-year-old long-hitter who is entertaining thoughts of trying it out for the LPGA Tour this year, told scribes in Filipino. “I wasn’t able to recover from that bad start.”
Regina de Guzman, the former child wonder, fashioned out a 73 and checked in fourth with a 222 tally, while Anya Tanpinco, the former match play champion, returned a 75 for fifth spot at 226.
Dottie Ardina checked in with a similar 73 for 227, tied with three others, including Gabasa, for fifth spot.
The pint-sized Gabasa, after shooting a course record 65 to gain a final-round pairing with Rodriguez and Ikeda, came down to earth with an 84 that included 39 putts.
South Korean Shine Lee, last year’s joint second placer, churned out a 76 to catch Malaysian Vivienne Chi Ven Yi, who fired an 80, as the top foreign finisher at 228.
Lou Daniella Uy of Valley Golf fired a 77 for 236 to rule Class A action by eight shots over Wack Wack’s Nicole Serapio, who fired an 83.
Charlene Abalos of Wack Wack finished off a wire-to-wire Class B romp with an 89 for 265, nine clear of Japan’s Maki Kageyama (88).
The final scores:
210—C. Rodriguez 73-70-67; 217—L. Guioguio 72-74-71; 218—C. Ikeda 67-73-78; 222—R. De Guzman 74-75-73; 226—A. Tanpinco 77-74-75; 227—I. Gabasa 78-65-84, D. Ardina 77-77-73, A. Unson 78-74-75, A. Fudolin 73-76-78; 228—V. Ven Yi (MAS) 77-71-80, S. Lee (KOR) 74-78-76; 230—M. Kang (KOR) 76-74-80, S. Ababa 78-77-75; 231—A. Pan Hering (MAS) 77-78-76; 232—M. Monsalve 77-79-76; 233—I. Chandra (INA) 74-78-81; 235—G. Handog 72-79-84; 236—G. Marquet (FRA) 75-77-84; 237—L. Landicho 77-77-83; 240—A. Sabater 78-80-82; 241—J. Poh (SIN) 80-84-77; 242—N. Sparudin (MAS) 81-76-85; 243—K. Hwee (SIN) 80-81-82
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